"By The Time This Problem Becomes Obvious, We Will Be Long Gone": Woman Plants Mint In Her Partner's Family's Garden To Get Revenge On Rude Neighbor

We tend to not think of botany as a skill with a lot of potential for mischief. But combine someone with the right knowledge and the patience to maintain a garden and you may make yourself a powerful enemy.

An internet user shared a story of particularly petty revenge, where their knowledge of botany was weaponized against an entitled neighbor. The tale began when OP was looking after a relative house and garden. A neighbor began making demands about how the garden was supposed to look and even secretly cut a branch off of a hazel tree. So OP decided on an unconventional and green form of revenge.

More info: Reddit

We reached out to LaCaffeinata and they were gracious enough to give us some follow-up details about their petty revenge. We wanted to know if they had considered any other methods of getting back at this neighbor or if they had an alternative plant they thought about using. “No, I did not consider any other plants - mostly because I had spare mint in a pot on our balcony and because I wanted something that would only be a nuisance, not an invasive species or "real" trouble, like bamboo. As I said, mint is an extremely useful and pleasant plant to have around, and I do not remember any place where my family lived where we did not have some mint in the garden. On a farm where we lived for a while when I was a kid, we had the whole shed full of drying mint hanging from the rafters.”

Naturally, we also wanted to know when their plan would actually start taking effect. “Since planting the mint last summer, it has about doubled in size, and there are tendrils sneaking off in all directions. I guess it should start showing up in her garden by the end of summer, even if we keep the main plant nice and civilized while we are still taking care of the house. Some Reddit users have suggested seed-bombing her yard, but that would be illegal. But as we also had to do some work on the backyard, I have planted some nice wildflower mix throughout the grass that is suitable for the situation and should attract lots of bees and butterflies. I love colorful, lively gardens.”

The choice of mint was particularly clever for its aforementioned attributes. The American Horticultural Society has even classified some variants as invasive since they can spread so aggressively. But let's not be too disparaging of mint, it’s a hugely versatile and useful plant. It has myriad culinary uses from tea to liquor, or as a spice in meat dishes and sauces. If you brush your teeth as you should (you do, right?) you have no doubt tasted the flavor of mint essential oil or at least menthol. And let’s not forget candy canes and other sweets that rely on mint for flavor and that refreshing mouth feel. Or cocktails like a mint julep, that otherwise would be just some bourbon and sugar.

Lamb sauce and mojitos should solidify mint’s pedigree as a useful plant, but it goes beyond just consumption. Mint oil, besides giving us a feeling of fresh breath, is also a great insecticide that does not have any negative environmental effects, unless you are a wasp, hornet, or cockroach. Then it’s pretty bad. Conversely, mint is pretty good for us, unless you happen to have an allergy. Some research suggests that it can help with IBS, while aromatherapy using mint essential oil has shown some promise in helping people with nausea after surgery. Altogether, it’s a useful little plant, though not if you really really insist on having a gravel garden.