We’ve seen a number of fine old Cadillac flower cars over the year here, but this is the first Citroen Saxo put to use that way. Shot and posted by xiao car.
Here’s another angle:
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Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: Citroen Saxo Flower Car
– Posted on October 21, 2021
Making good use of the famous hydroponic suspension.
Making good use of the famous hydroponic suspension.
LOL, love it!
Are you sure it’s not just a chopped up car in somebody’s garden???
About 35 years ago a lady friend [a retired owner of a Firestone tire store] did the same thing with a yellow VW bug. She lived on about 5 acres in a very rural area. The VW planter was next to her driveway entrance. She cut the roof off, removed the trunk lid and engine cover, filled the body with soil and planted various flowering plants. She had also removed the VIN plate and turned it in to the MVA as the vehicle being scrapped.
The county cited her for having a junk car in the yard, as a neighbor had complained.
She went to court and first asked the county to prove it was a junk car. She claimed that without a VIN it was no longer a legal vehicle. Nearby she also had several planters made from the bottom 1/3 of a 50 gallon drum, and painted in pleasing shades of green. The drums were not cited. So she claimed they were all simply steel planters, the only difference being size and shape.
The judge ruled in her favor.
Round 2:
The county then filed another complaint, this time claiming all of the planters together, constituted an eyesore.
My friend was ready for this complaint. She had photos of COUNTY property with similar items. In front of the county maintenance facility could be found 2 oil drums, cut in half, and used as planters. neither were painted, and now rusting. Around the flagpole at the same location, was a large tractor tire filled with soil, then a large truck tire filled with soil, then a car tire filed with soil. All 3 created a pyramid planter. It really looked great!
She also found 3 county operated playgrounds, each with a former [1950s] county fire department fire engine, the tires sunk into the ground, and the rear area that originally held the hoses, had begun filling with old leaves & dirt, and sprouted various plant life. These 3 still had the vin plates. In a neighboring county she also photographed a Korean War era US Air Force fighter jet that kids loved to climb on. The former cockpit area had been turned into a planter, and the air ducts, engine areas and jet exhaust area were made so kids could crawl all the way thru.
Her only comments were that if the judge found that her planters were indeed an eyesore, and they had to be removed, then the judge should also require the county to remove their drums, tires, and fire trucks as well.
The judge quickly decided the case in her favor, and as it was the same judge as the first case, he let the county know if they came back into a county courtroom concerning items on my friend’s property, and they lost again, he would hold the county in contempt of court.
Man, what a hassle for her to go through.I’m glad she didn’t cave in. I personally love having neighbors who are a bit eccentric. I’m doing something similar right now, albeit in 1/18 scale. No neighbors have complained yet…
@ Actually Mike, I Love that planter idea with the toy truck. I just have to try something like that now. I still have an old toy tractor that the kids have used up. Maybe???
I love the fact that she didn’t back down and found the county using similar items to further her case. I am a firm believer that you should be able to do with your land as you see fit ( provided it’s not indecent) Also, if your neighbor doesn’t like it, then it’s on them to put up a privacy fence or wall. I have several landscaping items in my yard built from old objects found in and around the family home. Fortunately my neighbors like what I have done.
Clyde,
I’ve always said I was glad she was my friend and not an enemy!
This lady had another complaint against a different county a few years earlier. She was highly educated. Very high IQ. Her first education was as a biologist, and later went back to get a Masters in early childhood education, & she spent the last 20 years of her life running a daycare. She lived in a rural part of the county [again, a different county] and allowed a formerly mowed section of lawn go to a “meadow” look. The county didn’t like that she stopped mowing that part of her property, and they cited her for having allowed “Noxious weeds and plants” to grow in place of a manicured lawn of grass. Those 4 words in quotes were actually in the county regulations.
So she walked into the courtroom. I was there because I was determined to see how this turned out and to show support! When the county presented their “Noxious weeds and plants” accusations, she held up her Doctorate of plant biology from a well-known university, and she was accepted as an expert in the field of plant biology.
Did you know that plants like azaleas, holly bushes, & many of the typical flowering plants we love to see, are ALL highly noxious to humans? She showed carefully prepared lists of noxious plants and weeds that were found in 100% of all the county’s decorative plantings around their buildings. Yes, ALL of the plant around the buildings were noxious to humans. She also prepared large blow-up photos of various county buildings with diagrams showing which plants were noxious. She even found photos of the plants in the county executive’s office, and yep, all noxious!
She said if the county wanted her to remove all so-called “noxious weeds and plants” from her property, then she expected the court to order the county to do the same, assuming that there was indeed a real danger to the public, as the original complaint alleged! My friend said just to remove everything would cost the county in excess of $150,000.
The judge called both sides up to the bench for a conference. She said later that the judge basically suggested to the county attorney, that if he was asked to rule on the county complaint, the county would probably not be happy at the amount of work his order would require the county to perform. [Hint, hint!]. And with having to comply with the health department’s requirements on removal of dangerous biological items within 10 days of the order, that would be difficult for the county to comply.
He also made it clear that if and when the county dropped the claim, they would be barred from presenting such a complaint again. The judge also considered my friend’s request for $1,500 from the county in compensation for her troubles, and she was awarded the money! I have to admire the county for writing the check that afternoon!
And yes, she was a ‘car guy’ who worked on her own vintage cars, including a Bentley Mk VI saloon. sadly I heard she got Covid19 from a student and passed away last year. I miss her very much.
I love Bill’s planter history. Good for that lady!
I wonder what the HOA thinks of this–or maybe the HOAs aren’t a thing in Europe? I don’t think it would fly in our neighborhood, but I like it.
The location appears to be a farm outside Ludwigsburg, Germany based on the barn, the plowed field in the background, and the license plate in the picture. It’s doubtful there is a HOA.
https://www.germanplates.com/german-license-plate-codes
Maybe the local HOA has a requirement that all cars must have current license plates… so the owner can claim that this Citroen complies!
Never encountered an HOA in Australia. Perhaps they’re only American?
If the lower part of the body resisted this abuse, the rust proofing must be good. Kudos to Citroen….
I like this ! .
In 1972 I had a 1957 MGA Roadster with no running gear so I shoveled it full of dirt and planted flowers in it .
After a couple years another guy wanted the perfect grille and paid $75 (IIRC) for it so then the car was summarily scrapped .
The old frat house on my block was recently refurbished and is now on sale for $1.5 MILLION DOLLAS (gasp) ~ last weekend they had an open house and the place was jammed full of yucking fuppies .
I hope I don’t get another neighbor person who wants to tell me what my very private back yard can have in it again .
-Nate
Unusual to see a modern car being used as a flower car/garden ornament – most of the ones I have seen are the remains of a vintage/classic car that is beyond restoration, or a tractor/agricultural implement.