Dear Eric: I’m an avid gardener in a suburban neighborhood, and in turn, I meet lots of neighbors. There’s one lady who keeps stopping by with questions for her yard, which I’m happy to share. However, she asked if I would go with her to the local nursery to help her select ones for her garden bed, to which I agreed. She canceled at the last minute both times via text. No apologies were given.
Since then, she’s knocked on my door and continues to text me with questions, without a please or thank you. Her last text said she was able to pick up the plants on a specific day but wasn’t feeling well enough to plant them (hint hint).
All this after I’ve told her no that doesn’t work for me.
My husband suggested quoting her my rate for services; however, I have no desire to communicate on any level with her. Is it rude to block her and ignore her?
– Garden Plot
Dear Garden: Yeah, it’s a little rude. Sometimes blocking is the only recourse, though.
Before you do that, though, have you tried telling her directly that you can’t be her garden go-to anymore because of the cancellations and the lack of appreciation? That may be opening up a can of worms, and not the kind that are good for soil aeration.
But if you block her without a conversation, it’s not like she doesn’t know where you live. Probably best to say, “enough is enough” and let nature run its course.
(Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.)
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