Neighbours when I am in the garden

[candodad]

I would love to spend more time in my garden, we have a great deal of space in comparrison to our neighbours but I cant do anything with it sicne the old bloke next door wants to come and have a chat, I dont mind this but then after the polite hello conversation he just stands like he is supervising me.

I dont know him that well, its hard to have a conversation since he is deaf and we have bugger all in common. Its just so annoying since I would love to spend more time in the garden.

Anyone else come across stuff like this before?

[linspins]

Ahhh, I sympathise with you both. He might be lonely, and also want to impart gardening wisdom your way, and I can see that it must be annoying for you too, as no-one likes an unwanted audience.

I think I would try going out, and going back inside again frequently for a day!! So he'll see you out there, go out to talk, but you'll give him a cheery wave and then disappear back inside. After waiting a bit, he'll go again etc...actually, this is probably a dubious tactic if he has lots of time on his hands.

Can you plant stuff along the boundary so he can't see though to talk to you?

Would there be any point in putting in headphones?

Can you have the quick polite conversation then say loudly, 'well, mustn't keep you, I'm sure we're both busy"?

Failing that, get him round to do your garden!!!

[QOD]

6 foot panel fence

The proper English garden! Sod the flowers. Feck off great big fences

[candodad]

QOD - Thats what the other neighbour did to stop him, but then again I also think she did it for him to stop him seeing her when she was sun bathing

Linspins - It makes it harder since me gw has known him since she was little but yeah perhaps giving him a but of "well were both busy"

[Iseeall]

Oh how sad , he is lonely and trying to be neighbourly. I know its irritating but so many people come on here and moan about noise,kids, music , and other antisocial stuff they have to put up with from neighbours.
I would try linspins advice of nipping in and out, maybe when he realises you don't mind a quick chat each time you see him he will settle down. Sometimes I think some old folk are desperate for a chat and forget social niceties.

[macreturnofthe]

my father used to deal with the issue of neighbours asking questions across the garden fence in a direct fashion and only said it once to each neighbour before they stopped talking to him.........................
'its none of your fucking business'

lovely man - all the neighbours were well chuffed when my mum kicked him out! and didn't hold it against the rest of us

[NumTumDeDum]

I'd put up a row of green beans. They grow very tall very fast and you can put up tall bamboo supports without it being an obvious attempt to gain privacy.

[EeyoreIsh]

my neighbour does this. normally it's nice chit chat but today she was moaning about our front garden. (seriously, when we moved in the place was a wreck and we've done masses, but apparently we're letting her down...). I hadn't even washed my face, I'd only popped out to do washing.

DH and I agreed a 6 ft fence might be in order

[funnyperson]

High fence.
Round our way, if one is in the back garden, the younger neighbours will open their first floor windows out the back, and chat. ,
If one is in the front garden, that is usually taken as a sign that one is available for a chat with the older neighbours. In fact if there is a need to discuss anything with a neighbour, the quickest way is to wander out and do some weeding/pruning/watering in the front garden, and all the neighbours will, sure as eggs, pop by and stop to chat.
In my younger days I thought this was a pain. I developed a polite and aloof manner. One of the neighbours said you could tell by looking at me that I didn't want to be friendly. This technique was therefore highly successful and I recommend it.

[candodad]

Yeah it's a real pain in the arse, my wife was out there yesterday and sure enough out he came "doing the pruning are we"
No Im digging to bloody Australia!

It's a state at times BECAUSE I can't be arsed to want to go out there and be made to chat.s