My back fence is in bad shape.
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The wooden palings have seen better days and, every now and then, one falls off into the neighbours' yard.
My only neighbours are at the back.
I like it like that.
So, my backyard is the only spot where I can have a neighbourly chat over the fence.
The place that backs onto my patch is a house divided into a few flats.
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The people who have lived there have always been friendly.
I know this because my veggie patch is out the back and, when I am ferreting around there, I can see their communal backyard over the fence.
Like a suburban meerkat, I smile at anyone who is about, then go about my business.
A lady who has lived there for some time loves citrus, so I periodically hang a bag of limes, lemons or calamondins on one of the (good) fence palings for her to pick up.
This homely routine has been going on for a few years.
She's not a gardener, but loves cooking, so she keeps a keen eye on what's growing over the fence.
I share what I can, but she's been at me to plant stuff for her.
I was OK with that until she asked me to grow chokos. I declined, as I have bad childhood memories of a choko vine that got so unruly it almost pushed over the shed.
It became known as "That Bloody Vine".
Actually, I think its botanical name sechium edule should be shedium destructii
Besides that, I'm not a fan of its fruit.
Not like my neighbour, who spent the good part of half an hour extolling the virtues of the bland green giant.
It's like asking me to grow The Devil's Herb (coriander). It's never going to happen.
Miss Choko and I agreed to disagree and went about our business.
It's like asking me to grow The Devil's Herb (coriander). It's never going to happen.
One day I was ferreting around the back when I found a choko in the grass on my side of the fence.
I'm not usually the suspicious type, but I wondered if Miss Choko had dropped it over expecting it to shoot.
I threw it away. I didn't put it in the compost as I've seen how That Bloody Vine grows. In a few weeks it would definitely have demolished the compost bin and have its tendrils on my house.
I was a bit miffed by the choko incident, especially when my neighbour breezily asked a few months later, "Did that choko sprout?"
"I threw one over there in the corner".
I told her that it didn't, because I got to it before it took hold.
I repeated that chokos would never have a home on my side of the fence.
I started tossing up whether I could find the money for a new fence. One that was tall enough so I didn't have to explain my patch preferences.
The existing fence is like a row of mismatched teeth.
Some of the oldest planks are grey, odd gaps are boarded up, and there are a few new palings that I have hammered in.
I decided to get a quote.
This week, I was down the back when I heard much activity going on over the fence.
I did 'The Meerkat' and saw that new tenants were setting up a garden with Miss Choko.
There was a fine mix of fruits, vegetables and flowers mainly in containers.
It looked great.
I can't wait to see what ends up growing over there.
I handed over two bags of limes from my tree, which, if I say so myself, is very impressive at the moment.
I pointed at my lemon tree, which is also full of green fruit.
"Looks like a bloomin' good crop as well," I boasted to the neighbours.
They looked suitably impressed.
I plan to add some leafy greens and herbs, which hopefully will flourish so I can share them with those over the fence.
I thought a bit more about a new fence, but decided to stay with old faithful.
You can easily see over it, have a chat, and the money would be better spent on seedlings, gnomes and the odd new fence paling.
At any rate, life is much richer when you can see life on the other side.
Just keep those creepy chokos to yourself.
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