I'd love to see a photo of your garden, and know your planting zone so we could make suggestions. Different plants bloom and grow in different places.

I think you will have to plan and keep dead heading to prolong bloom.

I pass by a house often and in spring the picket fence surrounds a huge blast of amazing color from Hollyhocks. Driving by now, it looks really bad because the owner didn't plant something in the place of the Hollyhocks. It looks dead now.

If your neighbor is complaining, tell them to move to a HOA run place. Takes the independence out of life, but some people like everything to be the same.

Sort of reminds me of this poem (not to say your place is "dreary"!). : )

My Neighbor's Home
Harold Coffin

I know my neighbor's grass is greener
The sidewalks and his windows cleaner;
His flowers taller, weeds are fewer
The paint job on his house is newer,
But I don't envy him one bit,
Because - as follows and to wit;
His view of my place is much drearier
While mine of his yard is superior.

I'll try to do photos. I'm not tech savvy though. I'm in zone 5. This started because I want to deal with numerous weeds on the property line but on their side. I wanted their permission to do so and was told my garden was an eyesore. I guess the weeds block the view? Weeds are not an issue. I'm pretty hyper and on top of thousands of baby trees, Creeping Charlie, thistles, dandelions, wild violet... I'm glad I don't have Garlic Mustard!

Did the neighbor use the word eyesore? That's harsh. I could use words like stark and boring to describe my neighbors yards but I don't because that's what they like and its low maintenance. I like plants and have lots of them and like the fact that I can change the look from season to season. That said, last year my flower beds looked messy to me so I tried to move some things, and got rid of some plants to neaten it up. I wouldn't call anyone's yard an eyesore unless there were lots of junk cars and debris all over.

People should keep their negative opinions to themselves. It sounds like you're working on your garden and that can take time. Why don't you find an interesting obelisk or two and plant some climbing vines or rose in the area between you and your neighbors property? Architectural elements in a garden usually look good even when the plants are dormant and can help to screen out nosy neighbors. I'm a fan of the cottage garden style and there often is an obelisk.

Actually, I was not unhappy when I moved here and there was a car on blocks next door, and while they mowed their lawn they didn't focus on any garden at all. It meant my yard was bound to be better, and I didn't have the "pressure" to catch up.

I was just thankful they weren't loud, noisy, or threatening, like the neighbor above me when I lived in a condo.

In your case, I'd simply enjoy a nice cottage garden next to my yard, something exciting to look at!! Tell them to MYOB. Gardens don't need to be precisely mannered (and mine certainly isn't!) If you feel a need for a barrier, trellis might help, or a hedge?

Yes "eyesore." I'm not planning to tell them anything. Not myob or move where there is an HOA. I have taken a look at his view from his property. They can't see much and my compost is on his side. Of course I find compost beautiful. I'm sure others don't. He has rocks full of weeds and a lawn full of weeds. He doesn't want to use Chems because his kids play there so I'll be grateful for that. He said my garden wasn't one idea it is too many ideas. That's a cottage garden. It still upsets me but I still feel happy in my garden.

The problem is that I can't plant near the property line because it makes it too hard to fight and cut the weeds--tons of them flowing in. I do want to.

His view. yes I don't usually have the wheelbarrow there. I've been trying to cover the house on the left ever since they limbed up the tree and broke my heart. Also still working to block the view of the ugly barn like garage. What should I put there?The tree growing into the fence. There are a few but one huge one. One more of his views. I'll have to plant more next to the shrub. It's mostly spring there. The shrub needs pruning.
His other view. The neighbor on the other side has just Creeping Charlie that he mows. No lawn. The easiest way to fight that is the cardboard. Otherwise all I do is pull Charlie. I have considered hard scape. Expensive.

The weeds at the property line.

I don't see anything in these pictures that would constitute an "eyesore," except perhaps for his weeds growing into the chain link fence. Could it be that he took offense when you brought up his weeds and he felt the need to put you down as a defense mechanism? In any case, it sounds like those weeds aren't going anywhere anytime soon, which is a shame because it looks like he has just let them go and they'll just be harder to eliminate the longer they stay there. My neighbors have let their yard get very overgrown in the two years since they moved in and it is a constant battle to keep my yard weeded while they let theirs morph into some kind of urban jungle of invasive weeds. I'm not planning to bring it up, though, since I have to live next to them. It's too bad we can't pick our neighbors.

Maybe you are right about the defense. I hate Chems. But I have decided to spray or maybe just paint the leaves. Does that work? It would minimize poison overspray. I should wait until the wind is that way. JUST KIDDING! That doesn't address the tree IN the fence now and all it's babies...

I think your garden looks lovely and it is so hard to please everyone ! Regardless , your garden is for yourself most of all . Don't let his opinion get you down ! Keep on keeping on. :)

Tell him to mind his own business! How rude. Your garden is beautiful.

Cottage gardens can seem unruly. Some people like structure. But this is your garden, not his.

I love cottage gardens, but I do like grass paths between the beds. My mom prefers all flowers....but since she's moving in with us and no longer has to mow....she's starting to like the grass paths :)

Cottage gardens are always a profusion of colors and what have you... some love them some don't... to each his own, it is your yard. Unfortunately we do need to try to get along with neighbors. Also we gardeners tend to see what we dream of and not notice what seems apparent to another...
In that very first picture, what I see is a lot of stuff in front of that fencing... trash cans, buckets, wheelbarrow, plastic milk crate an empty planter and a lop sided planter. Now perhaps just the moment you took to take the picture but does look a bit messy. Now I admit I like everything really picked up, even the hose would bother me when left uncurled. Picky I know... but perhaps your neighbor is the same and you yourself said you can't see those from your viewpoint. I also think you choice of mulch where it is in his face could be more attractive... while using everything for mulch is commendable it's not the most cohesive.
I do think it very likely a defensive comment but?!? Taking pictures should help to see better what others see... good idea... I wish everyone did that.

Yes, it did work out well for me, I got a different perspective from the photos and I cleared away the plastic and wheelbarrow. also did end up putting in hardscape where it's all Creeping Charlie. It's very easy to just pull Charlie off the stones rather than out of the ground. Perhaps taking the photos is the best thing I ever did. I understand now also that the other neighbor is basically in the garden as there is no driveway in between. "uncurled?"

I really wasn't sure where the property lines were actually. Thank you for not taking offence... I really am trying to help if possible, and you did ask for a different perspective. I know not everyone agrees but IMHO it's always nice to know both sides. By uncurled hose, I mean not wound in a circle on the ground seems to blend in best. Glad you thought to take pics am sure that helped. I try that approach in my store often, as well as at home!!!
I often think everything looks OK, but someone might mention something and I realize hum...
Happy gardening... I love it myself. Winter is coming to my area any day and just trying to get ready for that myself! Hope to have some time to spend on the garden site here at GW... :)

It is amazing what can offend a neighbour. My mother had one who would roundup and actually remove her flowers on the edge of her property if he didn't like them. He harassed her constantly about trees (that clearly were in her yard and not his), because he was afraid if a tornado came they might fall on his car. This same man took out every tree both old and new on his property, killed all the grass in his front yard and replaced it with stone and 5 six foot tall concrete cactuses with a vulture on the top of one. My mom is 85, and has a perfect yard, no weeds in her flower beds, garden, or lawn and zero clutter so he had nothing to complain about but he still did, all the while expecting her to put up with his vulture. There is no accounting for taste, so do what pleases you.

For some reason I was reading "house uncurled" Anyway, the hose will remain uncurled and the clutter is gone. I was standing on the property line for most of the photos. I have stopped caring what the neighbor feels.

giggles

Well, I like that you "stood in his shoes" long enough to assess things. Garden away with a clear conscience!

Thanks Susan. I can hardly wait for the growing season. I seem to take more pleasure in gardening with each one.

I have to say, I think you*re a very nice neighbor to still care about satisfying his opinions --after your neighbor had been sooooo rude! Cottage gardens are, by their nature, intentionally untidy, riotous and full of oddments! People who are non-gardeners or uninformed about garden design may not get it. I admire your forbearance with your unmannerly neighbor. A cottage garden is, to me, the most whimsical. I hope you won*t let a foul neighbor spoil your fun! Do show us this year*s doings!

"Fences and hedges make good neighbors".

I had the same problem as I was converting most of my yard into one big garden. I live on .4 acres. I am making almost all of my front yard a cottage garden. The problem is in the first couple of years it can really look scant and irregular until all the flowers reseed, spread, and fill the area. Now that my sweet williams (dianthus) and coreopsis are spreading rapidly it looks more solid and currently full of beautiful color. Don't give up. I would suggest planting perennials that readily reseed and easily divide. These will quickly fill in to give a more full look. Also, plant randomly together so that as one plant is fading in color another is coming into flower. I planted 1,000 stargazer lilies to pick up the slack when others may be going out of flower. In the fall I have goldenrod and asters to makeup the color different along with some spider lilies. Don't be afraid to mix up your plants. The point of a cottage garden is to have that wild random look like God has done in nature. You don't see God planting trees, shrubs, and flowers in rows in the wild areas of our country. We find beauty in randomness because it is harder for us to put it together in groups. This is why planting in groups of odd numbers is more attractive. Couple that with mixing about 3 species together and you have a great combination.

"I feel bad that one next door neighbor sees it as an eyesore. What do you suggest?"

Some people, and that neighbor might be one, will complain no matter what you do because they get off on criticizing people. My suggestion? Enjoy your garden and tell the complaining neighbor to kiss your grits.