I'm not a wierdo...

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RichKid

Shohin
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This is going to sound silly, but how do I ask my neighbor down the street who I've never spoken to if I can have that stump they've been wacking back every year without sounding like a lunatic? :p
 
Describe the plant and situation, give me the name and phone number - I suspect I can work it out :p
 
Maybe offer to replace it with a nice new shrub of their choosing?
 
mat said:
Maybe offer to replace it with a nice new shrub of their choosing?
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Hi, I notice you spend a lot of time whacking back that scrubby old bush every year, and I have a good use for it. So I was wondering if I could propose a deal?

I would like to replace it with a nice ^$^%&* that would look nice and be less maintainence.

What would I do with that, well I have a hobby not many know about ..........:cool:
 
RichKid said:
This is going to sound silly, but how do I ask my neighbor down the street who I've never spoken to if I can have that stump they've been wacking back every year without sounding like a lunatic? :p
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Ha Ha...This is a question I have asked myself many a time...young grasshopper.
 
Just ask if you can have it, offering a replacement can go a long way to a positive answer.
 
Ask while you have a Chainsaw in your hand :p
 
Think of the American Pickers. I normally start with a friendly "Would you mind if I looked at your garden?" Get them talking and you will quickly discover if they love or hate said plants. Always talk to the owner or the wife.

Good luck :D
 
Thanks everyone! I guess, when the time comes for digging in these parts I'll just give it a shot, I guess the worst thing they can do is say no right?
 
Civility and a smile can help some. There are a significant fraction that are never ever gonna get it.

Based on past requests of mine, most of your refusals will grow out of the conviction that you are nuts.

I picked a local KFC for rose hips for years. It never failed that, that years assistant manager never once had any idea what'n' heck I was asking for. S/he would tell me that they didn't have any hips. After which I would order a two-piece meal and pick rose-hips after...

Frankly I wouldn't bother to buy a tree before offering to dig their stump.

I took two box from a local service station this fall. They were big enough to fill the back of my van. All I did was ask if I could have some...
 
Something along the lines of, "I notice you chop that shrub back every year. If you would like I will dig it out free of charge and fill the hole back in for you."

Removing unwanted shrubs is actually fairly expensive if they were going to pay someone so this IS a nice offer. :D
 
milehigh_7 said:
Something along the lines of, "I notice you chop that shrub back every year. If you would like I will dig it out free of charge and fill the hole back in for you."

Removing unwanted shrubs is actually fairly expensive if they were going to pay someone so this IS a nice offer. :D
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Well that was more or less what I was thinking. These people have no landscaping in their yard whatsoever, so I doubt they would be interested in a replacement. Its not even a show shrub, probably some tree that rooted from seed and they just weed whack it every year. Its right next to their back fence, so I know it wasn't planted. I figured it would be less work for them if they had to dig it themselves or money saved if they were going to pay somebody. But my intuition tells me that they wouldnt do either. They are probably content whacking it each summer! :p
 
RichKid said:
This is going to sound silly, but how do I ask my neighbor down the street who I've never spoken to if I can have that stump they've been wacking back every year without sounding like a lunatic? :p
Click to expand...

Part of growing bonsai is not caring what other people think of you for growing bonsai. Just offer to replace the stump with something they might enjoy.
 
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