Spring is here and the grass is riz. And it is rising and rising and rising.
Year after year, we see the same problem gardens in our town.
Some of them are renters, but not all of them. Some are aged homeowners that could use a little neighbourly help, such as taking a moment to run down their side of the boulevard while cutting your own grass.
We need more pride in Penticton. Pride in our community and pride in what we show to the tourists that come to visit our proud city.
Landlords need to do something about the rental properties that never see a lawnmower or five minutes attention all summer.
The grass will soon be knee high on some of them and summer is not yet here.
Landlords must take some responsibility in how our town looks to the outsider.
Surely there is something they can do to make their properties less unsightly. How about a discount to a renter that does some garden work or built-in costs for professional lawn cutters?
Landlords should provide incentives of some sort for good renters — cash incentives that the sloppy renters don’t get.
It takes more than paying your rent on time to be a good citizen. A good neighbour means caring how your yard reflects on your neighbourhood and the people that live around you. Ill-kept properties also are likely to have garbage trees like the Siberian elm flourishing on their property from the prolific seeds that these undesirable trees spread through our neighbourhoods as they annually cover the ground like snow.
Well-kept yards improve neighbourhoods while unsightly properties have a tendency to drag others down to their level.
Maybe the city could start an annual spruce up week and get everyone involved in an annual cleanup of the gardens in Penticton.
It would be nice to see landlords be the first to step up to the plate, as from my personal experience in my area their properties are the biggest problem.
Elvena Slump
Penticton