A Chinese woman named Xilin Zhang (translated) recently received a citation from the law enforcement department of the village of New Hyde Park in Long Island, New York, for "violating landscape maintenance regulations," facing a fine of up to $2000. Ironicaly, Zhang initially planted a large number of native plants on her lawn in response to the call of the local town government.

▲Full view of Mrs. Zhang's garden

Mrs. Zhang believes that her garden transformation was very successful, "attracting swarms of bees, butterflies and birds." The newly elected mayor of New Hyde Park, Christopher, holds the opposite opinion, believing that Mrs. Zhang's garden is "extremely ugly," even to the extent that it must be fined.

This year, the North Hempstead Town Government in Nassau County on Long Island launched an environmental promotion campaign, providing subsidies to families willing to plant native wild plants at home. After receiving a $350 environmental subsidy from the town government, Mrs. Zhang immediately started the transformation, removing the originally "neat and beautiful but boring lawn," and planting various native plants, deliberately keeping it natural without any trimming.

In March, after Christopher won the mayoral election, he turned his attention to Mrs. Zhang's garden. "The ugliness is unbearable, I must say frankly, the front yard looks too ugly," Christopher said in court, comparing photos of two neighbors' gardens, "If you come to buy a house in our village, which family would you rather be a neighbor with?"

Mrs. Zhang countered by saying, "We need to encourage people to do the right things, for ourselves, for the Earth." She also put up a sign in the garden to clearly express her views: "This appearance is not neglect or lack of care, but a conscious choice."

In the Long Island area, several environmental organizations support Mrs. Zhang's environmental philosophy. In Long Island, local wild plants require little extra watering and can survive naturally without fertilizers. Compared to well-maintained lawns, wild plants are very beneficial to the ecological environment, not only saving water resources, but also stabilizing soil, preventing mosquitoes, and attracting more beneficial organisms.

"Ecologically sustainable gardens are not only pleasant to look at, but also protect our drinking water sources," said local water commissioner Mandy Germain. "We are trying to get rid of these large green lawns that take too much water from the aquifer."

"The Long Island Wild" organization's chairman Raju Rajan stated, "There are many towns on Long Island that encourage people to plant wildflowers and grasses because they don't want pollutants to flow into the bay."

▲Town hall

However, the new mayor Christopher insisted that if Mrs. Zhang wanted to promote her "ecological and environmental" concept, she had to make her garden look more beautiful. According to reports, after four court appeals, Mrs. Zhang temporarily reached a settlement: the town government suspended the fine, but Mrs. Zhang needed to further trim the shape of the plants in the garden and must keep the height of the plants below 4 feet (about 1.2 meters).

Regarding this, American netizens have divided opinions. Some said, "A garden that even bees like, how can someone find it ugly," while others questioned whether the local practices were based on cultural and racial bias. Some netizens said, "I'm glad I don't live next to such people," and "Don't use environmental protection as an excuse for laziness."

Red Star News

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7532321619532907008/

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