Ive lived in my cottage for over twenty years, and my neighbour has been here not much less. He began building his place just as I was finishing up the interior decorating of mine.
We know each other quite well; weve always kept in touch and occasionally visited each other, though weve never been close friends.
That year, when winter arrived, I stayed with my daughter for a while, as it was difficult to manage on my own at home due to health issues. Once spring returned and the weather turned warm, I planned to head back.
I came home at the end of April, after the last of the snow had melted. My cottage looked as it always had, and although I was a bit anxious, everything was in order. I busied myself with working in my front garden and tending to the veggie patch. Soon, everything looked neat.
I keep two small greenhouses. In these, I planted cucumbers and peppers, and in the third one, tomatoes. The beds held strawberries, carrots, onions, and dill. Along the fence that runs between mine and my neighbours garden, I have bushes of gooseberries and blackcurrants. My efforts in the garden didnt go unnoticed. Once again, my health faltered, and my daughter took me to London for a while, then sent me to a seaside retreat for a month to help me recover.
By September, I was feeling much better and finally returned home. But when I walked into my garden, I discovered that the wooden fence dividing our properties had been broken in such a way that you could walk straight through from his side into my vegetable patch.
It was immediately clear that my neighbour had been making use of my greenhouses and garden beds. He hadnt even bothered to ring me for permission, even though he had my phone number.
I was not pleased. So, I went across and asked him about the damaged fence. He admitted it was simply more convenient for him to cut through my garden, and that it brought him closer to my greenhouses and beds. I told him quite firmly that I wasnt happy with people entering my garden without asking.
I also requested that he repair that section of the fence himself, restoring it to how it was. Additionally, I said it would only be fair if he shared some of the harvest with me. It wasnt so much that I needed the vegetables; I just wanted my neighbour to learn a bit about respecting boundaries a lesson that, hopefully, he wouldnt forget.
In life, its important to mind not only your garden but also the fences between us, for respect and consideration are worth more than any harvest.
