Abandoned Stuff by Saskboy

The Boardwalk rental community where I live has some pretty nice flower gardens. Some people have obviously invested hours and even hundreds of dollars into theirs. I was going to make use of mine this Summer, but a few days ago the landlord sent out a notice that they were “eliminating all flowerbeds”, and putting grass over the new soil they are putting down to reduce basement flooding.

I’m writing them a letter in protest right now, and am hoping to convince them to let people replace their flowers on the new soil, rather than being forced into pots, or into not being able to garden at all. What sort of points would you make in the letter? I’ll be posting the letter later, and if it comes to it, a petition.

UPDATE:

Dear Boardwalk Rental Communities:

As per your notice on May 10, 2007 I’ve removed a personal belonging from under the deck behind my unit. However, I have a complaint about the “elimination” of all flowerbeds in Gladmer Park. I concede that the drainage grade around the buildings should be increased by adding soil, but take issue with the policy that flowerbeds can not be replanted on the newly added soil. Forcing your tenants to accept grass, and removing the option of a flowerbed is a serious mistake. You’re offering less service for tenants, but have recently increased the rent!

One of the reasons I chose Gladmer Park over other rental options, was the availability of a small flowerbed outside my door where I could spend some time outdoors doing an activity (gardening) that I think is important to the appearance of my neighbourhood, and also my health. I am sure other tenants agree with me, based on the flowerbeds I see, which obviously took hours of work and financial investment.

To resolve the situation to the satisfaction of both your business and the tenants who wish to keep gardens, I’ll suggest some possible resolutions from which I hope we can meet in agreement upon.
-Continue the landscaping of low lying flowerbeds, but give each tenant the option of keeping a garden once the new soil is in place, or converting to grass.
-Cancel the landscaping for tenants who do not want it done, but complete it after they move out.
-Continue landscaping and applying sod to the new soil, but create a new “community garden” area, so that tenants still have a space they can garden in. There is no shortage of grassy space in Gladmer Park as you know, so a small plot (or two) would be relatively easy to set aside for flowers and/or vegetables. This would add value to living in Gladmer Park, increase the attractiveness of living here, and help retain eager gardeners who would not want to leave their garden during harvest in the Fall.

Although flowerpots may be allowed, they don’t always look as nice as flowers in the ground, and they need to be watered more often. They also require tenants to purchase them with soil, which is a greater investment of time, money, and effort than some hobby gardeners would care to make. With the decks closed in, there would also be no easy place to store the pots over winter. And a flower pot can be stolen or broken, which is a disincentive to residents.

I will call in a week to ensure you have received this letter if I have not received a response. If you wish to reply by phone I can be reached after [], or by email during the day at [].

Sincerely,
[Saskboy]