Sherbrooke resident flouts flower rules, letting front garden flourish freely
Homeowner Dany Baillargeon decided this year to let his garden grow wild
When Dany Baillargeon bought his house on Brûlé Street in Sherbrooke two years ago, the lawn was dry and wasn't much to look at.
Now, he's transformed the front yard into a lush garden of wildflowers and other plants.
While the garden may appear chaotic and unkempt, Baillargeon says he actually does put work into weeding and tending to it.
"I make a distinction between leaving it abandoned and leaving it natural," he said.
Baillargeon says that he doesn't want to cause any problems with his neighbours over the appearance of his yard, and has spoken with several of them to gauge their reactions to it.
"My neighbours said: 'It's maybe not the choice I'd make for my yard, but seeing as it's yours, it's acceptable.'"
"It's not like I'm leaving cars parts to rust in front of my home," he added.
Instead of putting in grass and maintaining it, Baillargeon says he wanted to let nature take its course and not try to tame the wildness by cutting all that growth.
"This year, at the beginning of summer, all these flowers started to come up, different colours at different times. And I found it was nature taking over. I found it wonderful and poetic," he said.
"It didn't seem right to mow all this and put in standard grass."
Baillargeon doesn't use any pesticides on his property and wants to make it a place that's hospitable for animals as well as plants.
"There's lots of bees, butterflies who come, birds hopping around. There's life there and that's what I want to celebrate."
Noting that people would sometimes stop and stare at his front lawn, Baillargeon installed a sign indicating that the state of the garden is not the product of neglect.
The sign reads: "Our yard is like society: we find specimens that are invasive, colourful, unco-operative, original, unexpected, bizarre and splendid. It's the cohabitation that makes it all magnificent."
Bylaw doesn't allow for unsightly tall growth
In a Facebook post, Baillargeon joked that he was committing "horticultural disobedience."
Technically the garden could be deemed in violation of a Sherbrooke city bylaw which governs tall grass and flowers facing the street.
The rule prohibits growing plants at an excessive height if the yard becomes an eyesore or damages the esthetic appeal of the neighbourhood.
WATCH | When it comes to his front lawn, this Sherbrooke man is letting nature take its course:
However, city spokesperson Vanessa Migliacci told Radio-Canada that tall gardens are tolerated as long as no one complains. If someone does complain, an inspector may be sent over to check out the situation.
Baillargeon said that if it does become a problem, he hopes he can work something out with the city.
"If the argument is 'your lawn should look like everyone else's' then, I might defend myself a little bit," he said. "From what I saw in the rules, it's not that clear."
"If the city comes one day because of the rule that I maybe misunderstood, we'll see what's possible to still maintain this idea that I'm working on and this way of thinking about grass, gardens and landscaping in residential areas."
While his garden has attracted some stares, Baillargeon said so far no one has complained.
With files from Radio-Canada