HOA kept complaining that woman's lawn was not green enough — so she complied maliciously

Many times, homeowners associations (HOAs) have been subjected to criticism for their overreach by homeowners while trying to enforce the rules. Although the association takes a stance on a case-by-case basis, we often see individuals coming forward to raise their concerns. A woman recently faced a similar situation after her yard was deemed not green enough, leading to multiple complaints against her. The Washington-based gardening enthusiast “Garden Buds”—who goes by @garden_buds on TikTok—shared how she was left with no choice but to maliciously comply with the HOA’s requests. The video showed the lawn caretaker revamping what she described as her already-green yard.

Before taking the unexpected measure of planting clover, the woman had passionately taken care of her yard. In fact, she had already finished working on her backyard a year before, adding the same seeds, which transformed it with beautiful yellow and purple flowers. “About a month ago, I told you that I was sick of my HOA sending me little notes that my lawn is not green enough and to remove my weeds and clover. So, if that's what they want, that's what they're going to get,” remarked the gardener. Emphasizing that the only way she could comply with the HOA’s demands was to replicate the lawn with her clover-filled backyard, she said, “It turned out great.”

Sharing her process, the gardener explained, “So, I pulled out my lawn mower, and I set it to the lowest setting. I mowed down both sides of my lawn very low.” Once she finished mowing, the woman spread the microclover seed on both sides of her lawn. “I chose the smallest size because I didn't want it to be as conspicuous, and I think that's where my mistake was. After I spread the seed, I gave the yard a good soak down on both sides,” she added. Also, she shared a glimpse of the early stages of her yard’s transformation. As part of her malicious compliance with the HOA, her microclover lawn was “coming in nicely.” 

However, the gardener was not fully satisfied with the change, as the leaves of her new seedlings remained shorter in length. “I think the issue is that it's the smallest of leaves. It's not as big as the clover that's in my backyard, so you can barely see it, which is great if I don't want to piss off the agency,” she reiterated. In order to make the front of her yard appear like the other end, the gardener sprinkled an extra layer of seeds.

“I'm getting these yellow and purple flowers. I don't mind it, but it's filling in nicely overall. The lawn is greener and I don't have to water it as much, but I'm going in for round two. I mowed the lawn down again and I got out my larger clover seed. Go big or go home, right?” she concluded, hinting that her HOA might consider the plantations as “weeds” and not traditional grass. Meanwhile, her video managed to draw widespread attention on social media, with people lauding the content creator’s clever move. Among the countless reactions, @shyfox5353 wrote, “Told to remove clover, adds more clover—my kind of petty.” “Your house is so adorable and your clover lawn suits it perfectly,” @madimakesstuff added.

You can follow “Garden Buds” (@garden_buds) on TikTok for environment-related and lifestyle content.