Genuinely upset at this wildflower destruction

If you're not fucking devastated about what's happening to the natural world and our planet in general, then you simply haven't been paying enough attention.

And when you think "Well, what can I do? At least I can manage my little patch as best I can to encourage a few insects and birds", and then some oblivious moron looks up from Love Island for long enough to raze that tiny, tiny patch- then yes, you are fucking, fucking, FUCKING devastated.

I honestly wonder what it's going to take for people like you to wake up.

But claiming to be "fucking devastated" is insane! That's the sort of phrase a normal person would only use if they lost a loved one, or their marriage broke down. MNers have a terrible tendency for attention-seeking, melodramatic phrasing. People use "devastated", "heartbroken" and "grief-stricken" at the drop of a hat. A poster recently said "I really do feel like I'm grieving" because she didn't like how her hair looked in her wedding photos.

Sounds like the neighbours would be well up for a group project then. Keep us updated OP!

Aww that's sad. Some people just like bare ground. Sorry you've been saddled with them as neighbours. Get some cornfield annuals in and make the ground look cultivated like you've done it on purpose. The kids doing that sign is a good idea.

So many regional variations for the same thing! Also wynd in parts of Scotland, and in Neston where my parents live there are signs with "weint" on them.

Ah, I can see why you're cross OP. That looked beautiful and a creepy crawlies heaven no doubt. Often the best thing we can do for nature is leave it well alone!

As an aside we have a re wilding path on our estate and my children made a bug hotel. Super cute and a fun project.

Now I want a twitten!

Our untidy front garden, which has, at one time or another, apple tree, elderflower, rose, buddleia, cotoneaster, violets, columbine, bluebells, moonwort, buttercups, ferns, sedum, and whatever else might blow in. We usually sow nasturtium in planters, but I had an accident in February so DH has been too busy helping me to get round to that. Below the window we've put two garden chairs with a little makeshift table between them, so in fine weather, we can sit out and eat breakfast, snacks etc. I also read or do knitting or crochet while I listen to audiobooks on Bluetooth headphones. Sitting there, I can almost forget that the street is just the other side of the hedge.

was going to share this one too. Learned it when we immigrated to Scotland (to edinburgh for what it’s worth)

personally I wouldn’t say anything and just deliberately plant new things in pots so they know it’s meant to be there. They might have had concerns or thought it should be cleared or have had a reaction to something growing there as you aren’t even sure what it all was.

I think it looked better before.

Don't worry, op, it will all be back in a couple of weeks.

Well, just animals in fact!

Insects are vital to humans and animals.

It’s an extension to the outside world of the MN obsession with deep-cleaning their houses daily and washing their towels after one use.

Looks much better now

I love the idea shared earlier of getting all the neighbours together for a rewilding project. Then you could come up with a pretty design that everybody likes, get all the children involved and learning about wildlife, and it becomes a community project.After all, the lane belongs to everybody so they should get to input on how it is used. Plus, you’d be less likely to come home one day to find a neighbour has weeded out all the wildflowers..,

Oh OP I think you will be able to make it lovely and wild again. As you say it’s a chance to clear any plastic.

We’ve been watching Springwatch with DS and I enjoyed the ‘Springwatch Street’ part where they showed how much nature and biodiversity you can have in terraced back gardens in a city. It looked like lots of the neighbours really tried to encourage nature, and when they set up cameras were amazed by all the animals that visited the gardens at night like hedgehogs, foxes, even badgers, particularly in wild areas like your twitten.
It’s made me resolve to have my garden less tidy!

i would be upset too but nature grows! Would definitely explore pollinator hotels - solitary bee bricks etc can be made easily. Even better if you can add little dishes for collecting water esp in shadier spots

your brick wall to the left would lend itself to trailing baskets from the top too if you were doing intentional willing i wonder if you might consider brambles - we’ve managed to make our back fence very fruitful!

given how small my own garden is this would become a prized reading spot with a small bench!

I don't get it either and would upset me. We see wild, they see weeds.

At present I have 2 vases of different peonies in my sitting room. By far the most beautiful though is a vase of ethereal looking, dill seed heads. I saved them to spray gold and silver for Christmas decorations along with allium seed heads.

The dill is so beautiful I won't be spraying them. I can't ruin that natural beauty.
I do wish I was an artist though so I could paint a watercolour of them.
If your destructive neighbours saw my dill, they'd consider I had a vase of dead flowers.

Ah that is a shame. Having lived in lots of terraced houses I’m still struggling with the idea of the alley at the back not being accessible but it’s clearly not used for access where you are. Have fun with your planting.

What the fuck?
I can guess what type of gardener you are!
Neat lines of marigolds and lobelia around a lawn aka 1975.

OPs area is a stunning little biodiverse and wild plot. Stop embarrassing yourself.

What a lovely area.
Put up a couple of signs "Nature area", "Nature lives here" to help others see the beauty in wild things.
Don't worry about the bit of bare wall, quite a lot of creatures do like the warmth that they bring and he has left the moss on it.

Sorry OP, I’m not in the tidy brigade and love gardening but that does look like a mess to me and I can see why your neighbours cleared it if that’s what it looked like.