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Positive 'don't mow' signage? Burma Shave style?

 
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Without any negativity we need ideas for burma shave type signage across our front yard outside of the fence.

The town is happy to let us maintain as we like but we keep getting neighborhood guerilla mowers thinking they are helping....so need something that will solve more permanently rather than haviing to tell each mower after the fact and deal with hurt feelings.

This is the 12 foot verge between our yard fence and the street...we let it grow and scythe a few times for garden mulch.
Most know us and accept what we do but there's always a new guy with a big machine.........
 
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When I am looking for creative solutions, I tend to find Etsy is a really good spot to pull from.


(Source)


I love the pleasant picture and the worded direction is direct. I tend to put up signs that are direct and to the point at my work because anything with 'fluff' seems to turn invisible to the people who are intended to read them. That is my two cents anyway! I just wish I could find something like that but on a big board. I want to get one now, thanks for inspiring me!
 
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I found this here on the forum, it is a book cover though I like the wording:

Grow, Dont Mow



https://permies.com/w/192358/ebooks/Grow-Don-Mow-Book-Roots

I found these at Pinterest that I like the wording:


source


source


source


source

I am looking forward to what other suggest.
 
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"Pollinators enjoying - I'm going to mow it next week"    


kinda like "free beer tomorrow"
 
Judith Browning
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Mike Haasl wrote:"Pollinators enjoying - I'm going to mow it next week"    


kinda like "free beer tomorrow"



I like it!

'Pollinator habitat' was one we thought of but I like the tone of yours.

We do mow a mowers width swath of the street edge short so it looks deliberate and edged neatly...I might even use ' scything soon' since neighbors have seen us using one and know the word.
 
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Signs are lovely, but personally I would supplement that by pounding in a lot of painted, highly visible rebar or angle iron around the perimeter. (Don't poke any underground utilities!)

No matter how mow-horny somebody might be, they are not going to trash their mower in that patch of steel.
 
Judith Browning
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Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Signs are lovely, but personally I would supplement that by pounding in a lot of painted, highly visible rebar or angle iron around the perimeter. (Don't poke any underground utilities!)

No matter how mow-horny somebody might be, they are not going to trash their mower in that patch of steel.



Well yes, we have considered things along that line but have been working harder at being a good influence rather than antagonistic.

Our immediate neighbors are single old guys who don't do much outdoors but ride their mowers and spout conspiracy theories....so....slightly delicate situation.

We are driving board pickets along the edges that we can remove when we do want to scythe or mow.

This is a bit of a unique four corners...there are many shaggy yards here in town...ours is neatly shaggy and doesn't have one pile of beer cans or any dead cars and appliances

Interesting...of all the things I thought would be difficult when we moved to town, this 'neighborly' mowing was not on my radar.
 
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I love what Mike said.

"we're taking it slow
please don't mow"

"plants reserved for bees
don't mow please"

"we're letting it grow tall
for animals big and small"

I asked the AI bot, which is usually good at weird rhyming stuff, and the suggestions were uninspiring....

Signs for your Pollinator Patch (inspired by Burma Shave):
Sign 1:  Lawn a mess? Don't you fret!
Sign 2:  Flowers bloom, bees they hum,
Sign 3:  Nature thrives, a happy buzz!
Sign 4:  Let it grow, for all that buzzes!

Another Option:

Sign 1:  Grass ain't short, that's the plan,
Sign 2:  Helping bees, a helping hand!
Sign 3:  Pollinators love the scene,
Sign 4:  Wildflowers bloom, a vibrant dream!

Bonus Sign (place at the end):  Thanks for letting nature grow!

(i asked for two more and they started getting even weirder and judgmental, i'll spare you)

 
Judith Browning
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Tereza,
Those are great!  And fun!
We have an interum set up that will work for now and give us time to plan something nicer.

I have always wanted a 'Little Free Library' out front also and a give away stand for plants and produce...so this is kind of a first step in taking a visable stance.

The other day someone was asking where we lived and when I told them they said 'oh, the house with the flowers'! Made my day
 
Judith Browning
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Two years later...I still think signs are a great idea but only work if people bother to read them....we tried some things but in the end it made more work for us, having to move things to mow, etc.
Will just take on one mower at a time and talk to them one on one about why that grass is important to us.

https://permies.com/t/371237/riding-mowers-loose-neighborhood#3761168
 
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I’ve mowed the sides of the road for years and when I saw a do not now sign I respected it.

I still had people complain but they have passed laws now that make impeding a minimal worker a major offense. Most times it was on their side of things as here the town owns 33 ft from the center of the roadway.

I do not recommend putting in steel bars because that would be considered a Fuo or Fixed unmovable Object. If the mower gets destroyed on town property YOU WILL BE PAYING for the repair.
Worse yet, if a car crashes and the occupant is impaled you are going to prison for negligence causing death.
 
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Judith, are you willing to change signs during the season?

A good spring one might be:

Ground birds nesting - please don't mow!

Most people are soft about killing birds with their mower. With a little research, you might be able to determine what birds in your region nest on the ground and name them or put up a picture. My climate's too different to yours.

(Sorry, I don't know what Burma Shave style means.)
 
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probably just a usa thing?

 (Sorry, I don't know what Burma Shave style means.)



This use of a series of small signs, each of which bore part of a commercial message, was a successful approach to highway advertising during the early years of highway travel, drawing the attention of passing motorists who were curious to learn the punchline.
Typically, six consecutive small signs would be posted along the edge of highways, spaced for sequential reading by passing motorists. The last sign was almost always the name of the product.

 
pollinator
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Maybe signs labeling specific plant species in that area.  Turn it into a public lesson.

Otherwise screw in post anchors so removing is difficult without the right tools.  Maybe needing say a 5 sided socket
 
C. Letellier
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Jay.

google "burma shave slogans" and look at the AI overview.

Wall Drug signs are another historic verision of the same thing that last I knew was still running in some areas.
 
Douglas Alpenstock
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Steve Zoma wrote:I do not recommend putting in steel bars because that would be considered a Fuo or Fixed unmovable Object. If the mower gets destroyed on town property YOU WILL BE PAYING for the repair.
Worse yet, if a car crashes and the occupant is impaled you are going to prison for negligence causing death.


Good point. Looking at the OP again it is public property so physical barriers/hazards would be inadvisable.
 
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The Berma Shave signs were great when I was young....  Not sure this is proper here but I like the ones they posted here.  https://pa-trolley.org/burma-shave/
 
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SANCTUARY and photos of flowers? Mowers might see butterflies and think of cabbage moths. Also, allowing children to pick one might perhaps help.and/or a pic or photo of a child smelling a flower, which is adding a "do" to a "don't."
 
Douglas Alpenstock
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Another notion ... could you get a couple of beehives in there? Reinforces your story, and might just cool the ardour of the mow-everything crowd.
 
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Maybe something about soil carbon, or participating in the soil carbon challenge.

How about wooden cut out flowers, bees, birds.
 
Jay Angler
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OK, a little research suggests that 4 was a common number, often with a 5th sign that said Burma shave, but I don't know if you're wanting just the idea, or to actually add BS to the end...

I'm no poet, but research also suggested that the rhyming ones were more popular.

So here are two alternatives (no reason not to have 2 sets and change them out monthly???)

Poem 1:
Ground bird nests

Take it slow

They eat pests

Please don't mow.

Poem 2:
Tall flowers

For our bees

Buzz for hours

Don't mow please!
 
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Those are great, Jay!! Got any more?
 
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This tall grass is habitat!
Please let it grow.
Thanks!
 
Tereza Okava
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Hey sweetie ass!
Don't cut my grass!!*

(post a camera just in case the mower falls off the machine in shock. How's that for a viral video!!!)

*not a real suggestion, but wouldn't it be fun?
 
Judith Browning
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thank you all so much for all of the great suggestions!

I needed that laugh today Tereza!

Jay, those would work and I'm imagining nicely painted in some eye catching colors and just happens my artist cousin is coming to visit in a few weeks.....

nice one Ben!

 
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Could try adding some tall familiar plants like sunflowers. They don't like hitting them with lawn mowers and you can use them for mulch and stakes! Plus they look pretty.
 
Jay Angler
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Judith, did you get some signs made? Or were your guests too busy having fun?

By popular request, here are two more:

Poem 3:
Please don't mow

It's not a mess

The bees will be

In great distress.

Poem 4:
To mow will stop

The flowers growing

And also stop

Their seeds from sowing.
 
Judith Browning
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those are great Jay!
Company has been and gone and signs never happened...lovely visit though!

Sam, I love the idea of sunflowers!
protecting them as young plants might be tricky but once established should deter mowers.

At the moment we have a lull, no new comers to the neighborhood wanting to be 'helpful' lately so don't feel like we need to rush out to see if a mower is encroaching on us....have not let something get to a scythable length this year though.

I have been planting comfreys along the front edge and divisions of an ornamental tall grass that I had regretted planting closer to the house....we'll see.

 
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I do love Jay’s signs.  I also want to support Douglas’s idea.  A bee hive, or anything that looks like one, will virtually guarantee no mowing.  Personally, I wouldn’t have one with bees in it.  Maybe back it up with

No mowing…
Please!…
It will only serve to disturb….
The Bees
 
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I love the signs and suggestions…  I keep wracking my brain for a limerick, to no avail.

I want to include no sprays or burning.

But don’t wait on me, Judith, if you’re ready to make your signs, I may be awhile longer!🤣
 
Jay Angler
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Judith Browning wrote: Company has been and gone and signs never happened...lovely visit though!


I make signs for Hubby's egg business all the time. It's not rocket science, but it does take advance planning and practice.

1. Letters aren't all the same width, so I find making paper templates that I can trace around is hugely helpful.
2. You need large, and in particular, thick, letters for people to be able to read at a distance and while moving. I would do some trials with coloured paper and see how they actually look from a distance.
3. Once you have a letter style that makes you happy, (the egg sign ones I make have subtle "egg" shaped bits to them as an example), then calculate how long and tall your sign back needs to be. If you were actually to measure things like road signs, street name signs etc, you might be surprised how large they are. We're used to seeing them from many feet away, rather than close up.
4. Make the signs easy to install and remove. I find they can look tired after a couple years in the sun, so being able to take them down when not needed, and so repairs can be done is an asset.

These are just hints from experience. I'm no expert! However, if there is anyone reading this thread who wants to make some nice signs, this info will hopefully be helpful.
 
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There is an old rule for highway signs.   Start with1 inch lettering at 0 miles per hour. Add one inch for every 10 miles per hour.  Of course, if people are on tractors or mowers, they shouldn’t be moving too fast.

The measure I use is the size of the lettering on the highway signs in my area.
 
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