Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Last fucking straw

591 replies

sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 15:34

Handhold please and advice (on how not to utterly lose my shit or get arrested for this). It’s not been a great lockdown.

Saving Grace: my garden. Lovely tree, probably in the wrong place but predates the houses, was cut down without warning, so that my view, which was of said lovely tree, is now of the back of someone’s house. They have now closed all of their blinds because, yes, we are now overlooking each other.

The tree is in no man’s land between the gardens - it doesn’t belong to them. They’ve got down everything that overhung my garden (my son woke up to find men climbing over my fence and most of tree gone) and they’ve left a twenty foot high stump. My other neighbours were open mouthed in shock, so this isn’t just me sounding off; it’s horrendous.

I know there’s nothing that I can do, but I would like some vengeful suggestions that I won’t act on but will help me as I try to stop crying at the fucking awful sight of their fugly house.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
10
Ostryga · 09/03/2021 15:38

I would find it very hard to not go over and punch them tbh. What knobs!

Can you find out if it was a protected tree and report them?

Krazynights34 · 09/03/2021 15:40

Are you sure it wasn’t a council decision?

AIMD · 09/03/2021 15:41

Who cut it down?

Lochmorlich · 09/03/2021 15:42

Plant a tree of your own at the back of
your garden. A quick growing one.

Turnedouttoes · 09/03/2021 15:43

Was it blocking out their light? We have a huge tree right in front of our garden which means we get a few hours shade in the middle of the day and it makes our lounge very dark.

It doesn’t look very attractive when the council come and cut all the branches off but I’d rather an ugly tree than have it blocking out the sun

Original poster
sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 15:53

@Ostryga

I would find it very hard to not go over and punch them tbh. What knobs!

Can you find out if it was a protected tree and report them?

She’s just closed her back blinds but that may be because I’m standing here trying to look scary. She’s just moved in during lockdown and now I have to stare at the back of her house. Other neighbours are also in shock and her ndn said it’s because she doesn’t like any mess on her lawn. Her garden gets full sun.
OP posts:
Original poster
sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 15:54

@Krazynights34

Are you sure it wasn’t a council decision?
No she and her ndn shared the cost. Cue loads of apologetic comments from the other lady who I’ve known for twenty years.
OP posts:
WombatWomb · 09/03/2021 15:56

Why the fuck did they do that?

Were they even allowed?

Original poster
sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 15:56

@Krazynights34

Are you sure it wasn’t a council decision?
No not the council. she and her ndn shared the cost. Cue loads of apologetic comments from the other lady who I’ve known for twenty years.
OP posts:
Original poster
sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 15:57

@WombatWomb

Why the fuck did they do that?

Were they even allowed?

Because they are a bunch of shit bags. Sorry - am very emotional about this.
OP posts:
nitsandwormsdodger · 09/03/2021 15:57

Tell Greta thunberg and tell neighbours she will be round !

LegendDairy · 09/03/2021 15:58

They cut a tree down during nesting season?

Original poster
sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 15:58

@Lochmorlich

Plant a tree of your own at the back of your garden. A quick growing one.
Recommendations, please. I’ve got a v shallow garden and they’ve got a deep one, so my lovely friend the tree was basically a long way from them and closer to me. Watching a collared dove try to figure it out right now.
OP posts:
averylongtimeago · 09/03/2021 15:58

The rotten buggers!
All is not lost however:
If they have left a trunk it will probably sprout from the top- lots of small branches because what they have done is pollard it. Have attached a photo.
If it doesn't sprout or they kill /cut down the trunk, plant some trees of your own - about 1 m in from the boundary. I would recommend Silver Birch and Prunus Amanowgower (flowering cherry that makes a column shape).
Neither of these grows too big for a standard garden- they will quickly get to 4 or 5 m, but they are not so dense they cut out all the light.

I have grown both of these successfully from the cheap bare rooted trees from Morrison's or Aldi- they were about £6 iirc. They will be in stock in the next few weeks.

If you really hate them you could always plant the dreaded Laylandii- but they will swiftly be taller than your house and are a pita to keep pruned!

Last fucking straw
Last fucking straw
Last fucking straw
Original poster
sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 15:59

@nitsandwormsdodger

Tell Greta thunberg and tell neighbours she will be round !
She can bring the whole fucking crew. Trying to stop being snotty and tearful right now. Can’t really explain why but this has really hit me hard. Even the tree surgeon said he wished he could give a me a hug (used to teach him)
OP posts:
Original poster
sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 16:00

@LegendDairy

They cut a tree down during nesting season?
I know
OP posts:
purplebagladylovesgin · 09/03/2021 16:00

That's so sad, poor tree. I wonder who she got to severely prune it if it's in no-mans-land? Is the land council owned?

I'd be emailing the council to double check if there was a tree preservation order on it.

They could be in for a very large bill.

In the meantime I'd put in a local Facebook or gumtree request for unwanted young mature trees.

I have a friend who moved into a house that was bare and over looked on all sides. She asked for people's unwanted trees and got help to dig them up and transplant them. Her garden was amazing, it grew so fast as they were happy in their new position.

It was a good idea for fast privacy.

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 09/03/2021 16:01

@LegendDairy

They cut a tree down during nesting season?
This, as well as your view. Fuckers.
averylongtimeago · 09/03/2021 16:02

OP: the flowering cherry trees are lovely- the leaves turn pretty colours in the autumn too. If you want something denser to cut out your view a slow growing conifer (choose carefully!) or a bay tree would do the trick, you could plant several different ones to have interest all year.

Original poster
sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 16:03

@averylongtimeago

The rotten buggers! All is not lost however: If they have left a trunk it will probably sprout from the top- lots of small branches because what they have done is pollard it. Have attached a photo. If it doesn't sprout or they kill /cut down the trunk, plant some trees of your own - about 1 m in from the boundary. I would recommend Silver Birch and Prunus Amanowgower (flowering cherry that makes a column shape). Neither of these grows too big for a standard garden- they will quickly get to 4 or 5 m, but they are not so dense they cut out all the light.

I have grown both of these successfully from the cheap bare rooted trees from Morrison's or Aldi- they were about £6 iirc. They will be in stock in the next few weeks.

If you really hate them you could always plant the dreaded Laylandii- but they will swiftly be taller than your house and are a pita to keep pruned!

Thanks for the suggestions. Will look into those - also, is arson frowned upon. Thinking shed, not house.
OP posts:
YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 09/03/2021 16:03

I too would check if there was an order on the tree.

I’d be hopping mad. I had a Blackbird singing his head off, Great Tits, Goldfinches, a Robin and a pair of Dunnocks (feeding underneath) all in my tree just this morning. I’d be wanting revenge too.

VerityWibbleWobble · 09/03/2021 16:04

I came home from work one day and found my old ndn massacring a Bush in my front garden, he was actually on my side and he'd massacred our climber on the fence in the back garden too. I was apoplectic with rage and I'm afraid I swore a fucking lot a bit at the pair of cretinous idiots.

Strangely they avoided me after that, had they waited until the weekend we'd planned to go out and trim it ourselves a tiny bit (there was a birds nest in the front garden one) but he had to play the arsehole.

Op you have my every sympathy.

WombatWomb · 09/03/2021 16:04

Did you ask the new daft cow why?

Original poster
sarahC40 · 09/03/2021 16:04

@purplebagladylovesgin

That's so sad, poor tree. I wonder who she got to severely prune it if it's in no-mans-land? Is the land council owned?

I'd be emailing the council to double check if there was a tree preservation order on it.

They could be in for a very large bill.

In the meantime I'd put in a local Facebook or gumtree request for unwanted young mature trees.

I have a friend who moved into a house that was bare and over looked on all sides. She asked for people's unwanted trees and got help to dig them up and transplant them. Her garden was amazing, it grew so fast as they were happy in their new position.

It was a good idea for fast privacy.

I will do anything to cost them money at this point. I even said to the tree surgeon that I’d have chucked him 500 quid to stop if I’d got home a bit earlier.
OP posts:
Freddiefox · 09/03/2021 16:04

I k ow you say it was in no mans land, but I don’t really understand.. who’s garden was the tree stump in?

If they climbing over your fence I’d contact them to discuss why they thought it was ok