Vent: My street's plant enthusiasts are blocking the sidewalk with their pots

The people on my street who love plants have started putting big pots all along the sidewalk. It's hard to walk by, especially with a stroller or bike. Does anyone have tips on how to talk to them about keeping paths clear?

4 comments

4 Comments

sandra7911mo ago

Oh man, this takes me back. In my experience, plant lovers are passionate, which makes talking to them tricky. I once killed a cactus by overwatering it, so my advice on green things might not be the best. But those big pots are a real pain, like when I tried to get a stroller past a line of ceramic planters. Maybe start by saying you like their plants, then ask if they could move the pots a bit. Your mileage may vary, though, since I'm better at killing plants than growing them.

derek6701mo ago

Actually had a similar issue with my neighbor's herb pots creeping onto the shared steps. I just mentioned it was getting hard to get packages up the stairs. He moved them that afternoon, no hard feelings. Being super direct but nice about the practical problem worked way better than talking about the plants themselves.

quinn_hayes1mo ago

Ugh yeah my friend had this exact thing happen with her neighbor's huge potted fern blocking their walkway. She tried talking about plant safety at first and it went nowhere, but then she said her grandma with a walker couldn't get through. Moved it the next day. Idk why making it about people instead of the stuff itself works better, but it totally broke that total standoff.

zaracraig1mo ago

Hold up, sometimes being blunt about the stuff itself works better than making it personal like @derek670 did. Just saying the pots block the walkway might actually be clearer.