We are very luckly where we live, our neighbours both sides keep their gardens looking nice. I feel so sorry for you Grandma I do know what it is like to have difficult neighbours as we have had a neighbour from hell in the past. (thank goodness they have gone). As for your dividing boundary walls, if they keep saying it belongs to them, then fine, because when it needs repair they will be the ones to pay for it. I only have a small garden and a nearly all of my plants are in pots even two Laurels which have been in pots for over ten years and they grow so well with a little love and attention. I do hope you can sort it out. Why do some people have to be so nasty, and where is the point in them arguing it will get them no where in the end all it will give them is raised blood pressure. Good luck.
It is difficult, our garden is 200ft or more long, but only about 40ft wide, so our neighbours decisions can really affect us.
From under the fence on one side we keep inheriting bindweed, ground elder, brambles & bindweed from the other! Also ivy galore, invasive bamboo runners & lilac runners. They let tree saplings grow right next to the fence that lean on it & have cast the area where the greenhouse was (I gave up on that one) into total shade. The trees shot up & now take all the moisture out of the borders that side.
When I spoke to them very nicely about the bamboo & trees they clearly didn't care, just said feel free to cut what you like that leans over your side (like I need any more heavy gardening jobs!). From the front of their borders their garden looks tidy & that's all the care, they don't even tend it themselves. We don't feel we can ask again as they clearly just don't care, same as the loud music spoiling our peaceful garden all the time. It shocks me how inconsiderate people can actually be, even living in a fairly rural area.
So although we do own our gardens & can do what we like with them, I really think a little consideration of how our decisions affect others doesn't go amiss, particularly near the boundaries.
As for deeds showing who owns the boundaries, ours don't. Older properties don't always show it & both neighbours would say they do when it suits them & not when it doesn't!
Blimey!! what a miserable, awkward lot of neighbours some of you have to live near. I feel sorry for you, it must be awful. We only have immediate neighbours on one side who are excessively tidy, can't bear anything green to appear in their garden that grows above a foot high, and don't use there garden for pleasure.. To the side of us and immediately behind we have land that was once a lovely old orchard full of wild life.. When the owner died it was clear and left to do it's own thing. Consequently we now have thistle seeds by the thousands that drift onto our garden, we are always having to pull them up. On the brighter side we have a lot of birds that feed on the seeds and at least we are not overlooked or bothered by other people. The man who now owns the land will clear the brambles etc away from our fences if we ask him to do so. The question of boundaries is a tricky one, no one seems to know which belongs to them and only find out when things go wrong.
The trick is too not let things bother you. On saying that I am not too happy that my neighbour painted my fence. They declined to pay for it last year and it is entirely on my side of the garden (they had dug a small ditch as a boundary). Went to the shops on Saturday and came back to find 90% of it painted in their orange stain, so will have to use a darker stain to cover theirs this weekend! Oh the joy...
Hi grandma. Unfortunately, not everyone likes greenery. What might seem reasonable to you would look envasive to your neighbour. They were probably at breaking point with the previous owners when you came along. As for them owning the fence, let them have it. When it needs repairing then they will foot the bill. Just make sure you keep your plants under control and not let them hang over to their side, or cut off their light and you should be right. I always say if someone complains, there is always some cause behind it. Hope this helps to keep the peace.
Gardening Grandma- I'd certainly establish whose fence belongs to whom. Then legally it's the owners' responsibility to maintain, or not, their property.
We have spent a lot of money over the years maintaining our boundaries. Two back onto non-maintained council 'wild' land, ie now a sycamore grove. A 3rd is an alleyway fence, leading to the land. The fence is our property.
The remaining fence is jointly owned by us & our immediate neighbour. Next to this fence was a mature Crimson King Acer, planted by the original owner of our house, much loved by us & well maintained by a good tree surgeon in the last few yrs. However any overhanging branches from it, & an adjacent Magnolia, used to 'go' every time we went on holiday, without any request, nor returning of the debris. This obviously resulted in lop-sidedness of both trees.
Last yr this neighbour started to grumble in the Spring about the leaves that would fall onto her new patio & lawn, from the Acer. (The magnolia was felled some yrs back, as repeated pruning of them doesnt lead to a good looking tree.) So reluctantly I decided that the Acer should also be felled, which it was in the early Autumn.
It was sad, but the resulting light in the garden, as it was on the South boundary, has been a revelation, even in such a non-summer as this year. I shall miss the extra leaf mould it eventually gave me, & the beautiful outline of the bare branches in the winter, but have no regrets. I know that I stubbornly kept that tree when it was a real case of 'right plant, wrong place'. I had almost 30yrs enjoyment from it & a lot of neighbour hassle!
So I'd advise you to carry on gardening, but be mindful of any possible damage to their property from your plants/trees. Your garden is yours to enjoy & you never know they may even come to appreciate it too. J.
Hi all, this neighbor lark can get quite messy by the sounds of all these messages on site , iv just bought a house in Tenby and wonder does anyone know of any site one can get rules and regs on fences and planting etc, i feel forewarned might be of use as we could have one or two of these probs in the future maybe
http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk is a site you might consult, Alan. We have now, regretfully, taken down the tree at the bottom of the garden. When we did, the neighbour said, 'What a shame! It was a beautiful tree!' As Jo4eyes says, the improvement in the amount of light is striking, but we are again looking at the houses backing on to ours. We have a young buddleia (which I grew from a seed) growing a few feet from the boundary and, in time, this will do quite a lot to break the eyeline and give more privacy. In general, I don't think we have given our neighbours any cause for complaint. Some people seem to like their gardens free of anything much except paving and grass and don't like to see plants over the wall, either. Inexplicable! Thank you all for your responses - it was interesting to read them all.
Posts
We are very luckly where we live, our neighbours both sides keep their gardens looking nice. I feel so sorry for you Grandma I do know what it is like to have difficult neighbours as we have had a neighbour from hell in the past. (thank goodness they have gone). As for your dividing boundary walls, if they keep saying it belongs to them, then fine, because when it needs repair they will be the ones to pay for it. I only have a small garden and a nearly all of my plants are in pots even two Laurels which have been in pots for over ten years and they grow so well with a little love and attention. I do hope you can sort it out. Why do some people have to be so nasty, and where is the point in them arguing it will get them no where in the end all it will give them is raised blood pressure. Good luck.
It is difficult, our garden is 200ft or more long, but only about 40ft wide, so our neighbours decisions can really affect us.
From under the fence on one side we keep inheriting bindweed, ground elder, brambles & bindweed from the other! Also ivy galore, invasive bamboo runners & lilac runners. They let tree saplings grow right next to the fence that lean on it & have cast the area where the greenhouse was (I gave up on that one) into total shade. The trees shot up & now take all the moisture out of the borders that side.
When I spoke to them very nicely about the bamboo & trees they clearly didn't care, just said feel free to cut what you like that leans over your side (like I need any more heavy gardening jobs!). From the front of their borders their garden looks tidy & that's all the care, they don't even tend it themselves. We don't feel we can ask again as they clearly just don't care, same as the loud music spoiling our peaceful garden all the time. It shocks me how inconsiderate people can actually be, even living in a fairly rural area.
So although we do own our gardens & can do what we like with them, I really think a little consideration of how our decisions affect others doesn't go amiss, particularly near the boundaries.
As for deeds showing who owns the boundaries, ours don't. Older properties don't always show it & both neighbours would say they do when it suits them & not when it doesn't!
Blimey!! what a miserable, awkward lot of neighbours some of you have to live near. I feel sorry for you, it must be awful
. We only have immediate neighbours on one side who are excessively tidy, can't bear anything green to appear in their garden that grows above a foot high, and don't use there garden for pleasure.
. To the side of us and immediately behind we have land that was once a lovely old orchard full of wild life.. When the owner died it was clear and left to do it's own thing. Consequently we now have thistle seeds by the thousands that drift onto our garden, we are always having to pull them up. On the brighter side we have a lot of birds that feed on the seeds and at least we are not overlooked or bothered by other people. The man who now owns the land will clear the brambles etc away from our fences if we ask him to do so. The question of boundaries is a tricky one, no one seems to know which belongs to them and only find out when things go wrong.
The trick is too not let things bother you. On saying that I am not too happy that my neighbour painted my fence. They declined to pay for it last year and it is entirely on my side of the garden (they had dug a small ditch as a boundary). Went to the shops on Saturday and came back to find 90% of it painted in their orange stain, so will have to use a darker stain to cover theirs this weekend! Oh the joy...
Gardening Grandma- I'd certainly establish whose fence belongs to whom. Then legally it's the owners' responsibility to maintain, or not, their property.
We have spent a lot of money over the years maintaining our boundaries. Two back onto non-maintained council 'wild' land, ie now a sycamore grove. A 3rd is an alleyway fence, leading to the land. The fence is our property.
The remaining fence is jointly owned by us & our immediate neighbour. Next to this fence was a mature Crimson King Acer, planted by the original owner of our house, much loved by us & well maintained by a good tree surgeon in the last few yrs. However any overhanging branches from it, & an adjacent Magnolia, used to 'go' every time we went on holiday, without any request, nor returning of the debris. This obviously resulted in lop-sidedness of both trees.
Last yr this neighbour started to grumble in the Spring about the leaves that would fall onto her new patio & lawn, from the Acer. (The magnolia was felled some yrs back, as repeated pruning of them doesnt lead to a good looking tree.) So reluctantly I decided that the Acer should also be felled, which it was in the early Autumn.
It was sad, but the resulting light in the garden, as it was on the South boundary, has been a revelation, even in such a non-summer as this year. I shall miss the extra leaf mould it eventually gave me, & the beautiful outline of the bare branches in the winter, but have no regrets. I know that I stubbornly kept that tree when it was a real case of 'right plant, wrong place'. I had almost 30yrs enjoyment from it & a lot of neighbour hassle!
So I'd advise you to carry on gardening, but be mindful of any possible damage to their property from your plants/trees. Your garden is yours to enjoy & you never know they may even come to appreciate it too. J.
Hi all, this neighbor lark can get quite messy by the sounds of all these messages on site , iv just bought a house in Tenby and wonder does anyone know of any site one can get rules and regs on fences and planting etc, i feel forewarned might be of use as we could have one or two of these probs in the future maybe
so good luck
Alan
http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk is a site you might consult, Alan. We have now, regretfully, taken down the tree at the bottom of the garden. When we did, the neighbour said, 'What a shame! It was a beautiful tree!' As Jo4eyes says, the improvement in the amount of light is striking, but we are again looking at the houses backing on to ours. We have a young buddleia (which I grew from a seed) growing a few feet from the boundary and, in time, this will do quite a lot to break the eyeline and give more privacy. In general, I don't think we have given our neighbours any cause for complaint. Some people seem to like their gardens free of anything much except paving and grass and don't like to see plants over the wall, either. Inexplicable! Thank you all for your responses - it was interesting to read them all.