Some years back I was fortunate to find that my suburban rental home came with established wide vegetable garden beds double dug. Come spring, I eagerly planted our veggies, flowers, and herbs.

Two months later the neighbor behind me blamed me for her sprained ankle. She maintained that my garden was attracting rabbits to her yard and they made holes which she stepped into, spraining her ankle.

This neighbor installed a plastic sheeting on the chain link fence to prevent the critters from going from my yard to hers. The plastic sheeting ensured that whenever the garden was watered, water would hit the plastic and generously soak the line where the fence stood. Both my neighbor and I had the tallest and best watered weeds in town. I was torn between sympathy for her frustration and laughing at how much she was making things worse.

I pulled the ones on my side of the fence and she tried to insist I come into her yard to do the same since their very existence was my fault. I would have obliged for harmony's sake, but had small children to tend. I just let her vent and realized that she was an unhappy woman. What a shame she did not find a source of pleasure, such as gardening, to lift her spirits and help her keep annoyances in perspective. I'm sure glad I have!

Bravo for you, to have handled a difficult person with grace. Even if you had not been gardening, she would have found something else to hassle you about, no matter what you did or didn't do in your back yard – poor sad thing. What a great disappointment it must have been to her that you didn't retaliate the way she probably hoped you would. Depriving folks like that of an ugly fight is the best revenge, isn't it !

You might offer the old wind bag, some of your produce from your garden or a flower arrangement from your garden!! Maybe if you tell her that it all came from your back yard, she would be more understanding?? It is sad, but maybe you can turn it all around.....Good Luck....