COLUMBIA — Janet and Jeff Crouch received a cease-and-desist notice from their Columbia, Maryland homeowners association in late 2017 demanding they remove their 17-year-old pollinator garden and replace it with turf grass or face legal action. The notice, delivered by the HOA’s attorney just before Thanksgiving 2017, gave the couple ten days to comply.
The Crouches bought their home in 1999 and gradually transformed their previously barren yard into a pollinator-friendly landscape. They had maintained the garden for seventeen years without issue before the dispute began.
Earlier in 2017, the HOA sent a letter requesting routine seasonal maintenance such as mowing and trimming overgrown plants. The Crouches responded by explaining their lawn was already mowed and that their gardening approach was ecological, resulting in a more natural appearance. They later hired an attorney who argued they had not violated any HOA rules because the community guidelines did not specify restrictions on pollinator gardens.
After submitting their legal response, the Crouches heard nothing from the HOA for six months. The association eventually escalated its demands, requiring removal of the pollinator gardens from both front and back yards.
Janet Crouch described how central the garden had become to their daily lives. "He'd come home from work, drop his keys, and head outside to see who was around. He'd check to see what new flower had bloomed, what butterfly or moth was in the yard, or spot a bird we hadn't seen before. It's become a huge, huge part of our lives," she said.
The legal dispute drew the attention of state legislators and ultimately led to a change in Maryland law.