Pensioner faces court battle unless he cuts down his wildflower garden
A pensioner has been ordered to mow down his beautiful garden of wildflowers after planting them to attract bees.
Dennis Moriarty, 80, was told he faces being dragged to court by Kansas City officials after allegedly violating a ban on growing ‘rank weeds and noxious plants’.
But the council’s order has ignited fury among gardeners around the world who say Dennis is just trying to help the environment.
The 80-year-old military veteran began planting milkweed and echinacea during lockdown in the hope that bees, butterflies and other pollinators would return to the area.
He believes the native flowers are not weeds and says getting rid of them would harm the ecosystem.
Pictures show the garden in full bloom, with the proud pensioner standing among pretty pink, orange and yellow flowers.
But he warned last week that they have grown taller than the 12-inch limit and must be taken down.
was told he was in violation of city codes as they had grown taller than 12 inches.
‘I was doing it for my neighbourhood, not just for myself,’ he told the local Kansas public radio station. ‘It’s fun to sit out here on this porch and watch the plants dance.’
‘I am an 80-year-old army veteran and environmentalist who planted 10 native wildflowers species on my front terrace and now KC CODES has photographed as weeds and I’ll be hauled to court,’ he wrote in a tweet that soon went viral.
‘These are flowers planted specifically to support bees, hummingbirds, butterflies… I’m disgusted.’
People in the UK and as far as Australia are now supporting his plight.
One supporter wrote: ‘Pollinators are our friends.’
Mr Moriarty said he does not want a court battle but has vowed not to trim his wildflowers.
‘They need to change their codes to reflect the fact that we need to take care of our environment,’ he added.
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