To not cut down this tree? Neighbour keeps on about it.

[AwfulMaureen]

My small garden has a low fence between mine and my neighbours garden. It's a housing association property and we're responsible for gardening ourselves.

Anyway...we moved in less than a month ago and my neighbour the same, lovely girl...but she keeps on about the Hawthorn in my garden.

I'd not had time to garden much and the garden was badly neglected so the tree had overhung her garden a lot before I and she moved in....she kept mentioning it last week so I went out and had a proper look yesterday....got some secateurs and clipped it well back from her garden......the fence is only hip height so I could lean.

I made sure there were no thorny branches in her garden too. then she appeared and offered me her hedge clippers to "cut the rest down"



I said "I'm not cutting it down....I like it." which I do...it's a tree ffs! A beautiful one too.

She looked at me like so I just smiled at her and said that it added some height to the borders and is good for the bees.

She went on to say how terrified she was of bees....and to say "I hope you're not going to plant flowers too!"

Erm YES of course I am!! I said to her that the lane behind our garden is FULL of wild flowers and that soon, both gardens will be buzzing with bees no matter what I plant. She just kept on about how afraid of them she is!

Wtf?

[Halsall]

Well, YANBU, obviously. There will be bees - that's her problem.

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

SIBU. Ignore.

[Ledkr]

She sounds a tit!
My old lady neighbour has been harassing me about a tree in the corner of the garden (which is my only privacy from overlooking flats) as she says it stops her growing anything in her garden (massively lush productive garden)
Dh had to intercept her constant notes through the door when I was pg as he thought I'd murder her.

[MooncupGoddess]

Haha, I thought from the heading that you'd be talking about some 60ft monster sycamore like the one in my neighbour's garden that takes all my light away.

YANBU.

[AwfulMaureen]

I just wanted to make sure that people didn't generally think of Hawthorn as a weed or something? It's not massive...about 8 foot and Hawthorn can be managed easily.

[orangepudding]

YANBU.

Let her cut anything that over hangs into her garden herself, you don't need to do it for her.

[Floralnomad]

You have been very kind to cut her bit down ,in future let her trim the bits that hang over her fence ( she is allowed to throw the bits back) . Are you allowed to put up a bigger fence so you can block her out ?

[AwfulMaureen]

Well part of it was over our shared path....so I had to do that really and there was only a bit on her side.

I am allowed to put up my own fence but can't really afford it.

[MatureUniStudentGraduated]

Watch your hawthorn. Those things grow at a rate of knots and Never die... 3 of those ba&&eds in Matures garden

[itsnothingoriginal]

You have been totally reasonable! You are under no obligation to cut it down at all. She sounds like she has a bit of a problem with nature!

You could attach some bamboo screening to the fence to increase the height a bit - cheap option.

I have trees for privacy. They are going nowhere!!

[tallulah]

Sounds like our old neighbour. We planted a buddleia

[fifi669]

I have a massive Christmas tree at the bottom of my garden. (Please excuse the mess it's a work in progress). The couple before me planted it after Christmas years ago. The lady has since died and the old man went into a home. The house at the bottom of my garden is her sisters.

Neighbour across the footpath wants me (5ft nothing) to chop it down. How could I? Apart from the practicalities, it's a visual reminder of my other neighbours deceased sister and husband. I thought it was quite romantic :)

Arsey neighbour insists it's dangerous and sways in the wind and he fears for his house. I'm in the SW, worst storms in 2 billion years, hasn't moved an inch.

Neighbours are weird.

[Andrewofgg]

Start keeping bees and really get her shitting herself and staying out of the garden altogether. Double whammy.

[fifi669]

:)

[AwfulMaureen]

Original that's a good idea....I would like some more privacy to be honest, it's very overlooked here. Fifi people are weird about trees...I love them! I love big trees too...they're amazing. They bring wildlife and provide shade.

Andrew the funny thing is that I had thought about that in my old house! I might open a honey farm

[wowfudge]

There's nowt so queer as folk OP. I'd have let her cut it back on her side herself. Given that she wants you to get shot of it completely, perhaps it was a good thing you did it yourself.

My neighbour (over rear fence to our garden) has recently removed a mature elderberry and put a concrete sectional garage in. Last year we planted a large patch in the corner of the garden with shrubs, climbing rose, winter jasmine and a honeysuckle. It was going to look lovely beneath the elderberry! Now I'm wondering what to put in to screen the new view of his bloody garage as it'll take a few years to mature and fill in.

[Nocomet]

AwfulMaureen I guess your hawthorn is in flower, looking stunning and attracting lots of bees at the moment

Honestly your neighbour is a bit bonkers. Fortunately hawthorn is a hedging plant and your side won't care if she prunes her side pretty hard. She'll just get no flowers her side.

Fifi I also have large ex-Christmas trees at the bottom of my garden and the field next door has a vast pine tree that sways very alarmingly on windy days. However, they are still quite happy it's just my chimney cowl that blew of in the storms.

The only trees that bother me are Scotch Pines, which both drop branches and blow over (walked out of uni flat and was very [shocked] to realise 'bush' I didn't remember by the path, was the top of a spindly, but fairly tall Scots pine.)

[Mouthfulofquiz]

Scared of bees?? Asking you not to plant flowers??
Totally bonkers. She needs to get a grip!
There is a website about which flowers to plant to help bees - I'd be taking a look at that and start planting!

[CaffeinatedKitten]

You need a few different varieties of lavendar in there:o

[DIYapprentice]

I hate to admit it, but I kinda hate hawthorns. Not enough to chop down the numerous hawthorns in our hedge, but they are a sodding bastard to prune etc. They have a poison on their barbs and if you get caught on them it stings for ages!!!!

They are pretty though, especially the lush new leaf green, and the berries. Crap over winter though, no privacy at all.

[EverythingsDozy]

I have a personal battle with my NDNs hawthorn because its enormous thick roots have made my lawn all lumpy and I've had to pull up the lawn and hack all the roots away!

But if it isn't causing any problems then she's nuts! I got sky fitted the other day and the installer asked if I was going to chop down two fruit trees in my garden. I was and said no, I quite like them and they're good for the bees!

[AwfulMaureen]

Mouth I know that our bees are in crisis and need all the help they can get! I will be planting as many plants for them as possible.

[PurplePidjin]

Lots and lots of pretty purple Buddleia, lovely smelling lavender bushes, and maybe some brightly coloured annuals to lure the pollinators in

[AwfulMaureen]

I am having sunflowers, snapdragons, lupins and lavender.

[kali110]

Yanbu at all! Im little scared ofbees even though i love them lol we need to do more to help them.
Fifi that tree is beautiful.