Home Owners' Association

Okay, here's the deal. My husband and I live in a townhome on the outskirts of Charlotte. It is part of a small housing community. We each get a small front yard and a slightly larger back yard off of an alleyway where we park. So, both sides are quite visible. In the Home Owners' Association guidelines, it specifically states that we are allowed to have planters in our yards as long as we keep the plants in good condition (ie. remove dead or diseased plants as soon as possible). The first year we lived here, I created a patio garden with everything in containers. I was so happy with my yield of cherry tomatoes and banana peppers that I decided to create a large planter garden in my backyard for the next spring. So, that fall, my mother and I created a large bed, surrounded by a stone border, so that it could cook down and amend the soil for the spring planting. It looked very neat with pine straw on top of it. The following January, we received a note from our HOA about the "structure" in our backyard which we had not gained a permit to build, and that we were to "cease construction immediately." My husband promptly called the HOA to let them know that we were completely within the guidelines and to stop harassing us about it. Once spring came, I planted a plethora of vegetables and herbs and enjoyed a huge tomato and pepper crop once again, along with quite a few other things. About halfway through the summer, we received yet another notice from the HOA, this time telling us that there was "trash and vegetation growing in our yard that needed to be removed immediately." This peaked my anger, of course and I called them immediately. This first person I spoke to obviously knew what I was talking about when she replied, "you're the one with the tomato plants." She then went on to complain about their size and that they were vegetable plants. I assured her that they were in good condition and were being maintained quite well. This went on back and forth for quite a while, with both of us getting angrier and more stubborn. Finally, I threatened her with legal action and she hung up on me. My husband called back later to complain to the manager about her attitude and to once again cease harassing us. We haven't heard from them since, but spring is almost here and my garden plans are even more ambitious than last year. So, we'll see if we hear from them again. What I don't understand is, why can't a person be allowed to grow their own food on their own property?? As my mom would say, "it's criminal." So to everyone out there, go grow your own!