Last fucking straw

[sarahC40]

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.

Oh, OP, I'm so sorry! I'd feel exactly the same as you! We have a wildflower garden, with apple, pear, and bay trees. Our NDN hate it. They complain to the council every year, shout at us at every opportunity - their own garden looks like a car park, as a PP accurately noted!

Some people just have no love of nature. I can't understand it, I love the birds, the butterflies, the bees. I'm so angry on your behalf!

@averylongtimeago - I don't know where you get that from - the Silver Birch in my back garden is at least 30 foot tall!

The last time I was in Costco. They had a massive almost matured tree for sale sitting in the entrance way ( too big for the shop floor).
You could buy that and plant it

@Jacketpotato84

Have you seriously been crying over a tree? What do you think your really upset about?

Err I'm upset because I've lived here for 20 years enjoying the tree; I'm upset because it is now exposing me to being overlooked by morons; and because it was a lovely tree. Do me a favour and sod off.

That's awful @sarahC40 nothing more to add than sorry they did this

Some good suggestions about new trees here.

@Daleksatemyshed

Just wanted to say I'd be gutted too *@sarahC40*. Please don't resort to arson, I find psychological torture far more effective, look them in the eye and give them hell.

No arson. Restraining myself and looking at all the great suggestions here.

@Peachee

If it was me I would weep a little.. get myself together a plant a row of quick growing trees at the end of my garden. Now. So they grow soon and you haven’t got to look at said fugly house. I’m so sorry about this it’s such a shame xx

Thanks. People on here are much nicer than my neighbours

Another vote for the highest lumen floodlight that you can find. Just leave it on all night in the direction of their watch tower. They will soon get the message.

@MrMucker

Posted that too quickly oops. An ash tree will seed all around and in additional swathes wherever the wind blows. They are a bloody nuisance. If you chop it back then it is less of an issue. Ash is the fastest growing tree in the UK. It is also the only wood which you can use "green", so it is frequently hacked back both for maintenance and for use. You don't need to get het up about it-give it three months and it will be growing like the clappers.

Looking forward to that

[quote PuddyMuddles4]@averylongtimeago - I don't know where you get that from - the Silver Birch in my back garden is at least 30 foot tall![/quote]
I said that it would rapidly get to 4-5 m, that it didn't get very dense foliage. Not that it would stop at that size.

The tree surgeon is at fault here.

You can’t just cut down a tree without having checked it’s not protected and also you can’t cut a tree down not on the owners land.

If it’s no mans land then it defaults to council.

So the tree surgeon has broken rules and should be fined very heavily! He is obviously a cow boy- taking money and cutting a tree down (incorrectly leaving a stump like that) on land he doesn’t even know who the owner of it is!

The fuckwits behind us did that, not just one tree but five trees. The council did nothing, when we moved in we couldn't see any other houses, now we are overlooked by five.

Eucalptyus Gunni. PLant at the furthest extent of your land. It needs as much sun/light as possible. but it'll grow, and it's lovely. You *will have to prune it into shape/to contain size, but properly managed, it's a lovely shrub/tree. You can also use the prunings to make all sorts of craft and artistic arrangements indoors.

WHilst that's growing, if you prefer blossom, plant saplings further into your land. You can allow the blossom trees to flourish, or allow the E.G. to grow/not bother planting them. Your choice.

I
The E.G. can be pruned every year, or left to grow. It will also withstand hard pruning.

Id be furious too :(

Currently locked in a ‘war’ with a neighbour over an ash tree. I have 3. All mature height when I moved in. Doing great.

Middle aged neighbour decided 7yrs after I moved in that the trees were a problem.

Tried reporting me to whomever.

Tried to shame me she had to put a fence up because of the ‘view’ yet she wants me to cut my tree down so she has a view right into my bedroom.

Tried complaining with some legal bollocks about light. Having built a greenhouse under said tree and complaining nothing grows.

Bought baggies of seedings round telling me it was ‘unfair’ she had to keep pulling them up.

At that point I politely suggest she move to an over 50s retirement village if weeding is such a problem.

I’m awaiting the next round of ‘legal complaints’.

For a laugh I filled loads of old plant pots last year with compost and ash keys with much huffing and puffing from said neighbour. Left them nestled under the trees. Haven’t checked them yet but I plan to dish out these little saplings to anyone who wants the for their garden when they’re big enough. I’m nice like that

Much sympathy, I would feel the same way. Plant a 6ft eucalyptus at the end of your garden and you’ll have your view and privacy back in 3 years or so.

Could you rig up a huge shade sail on poles to give you some privacy in your garden and put 'TREE MURDERER LIVES HERE' in large canvas letters with an arrow pointing to her house?

Where I live Eucalyptus are considered the devil. I hate the smell, and they can render the soil infertile with their acidic leaves and shallow roots, which can also cause damage to foundations as they spread horizontally.

@Boatingforthestars

Sneak into their garden after nightfall with a bag of frozen sausages and a hammer. Hammer said sausages upright into their lawn evenly spaced.

Watch on as all the local cats and foxes completely destroy their lawn over the next week digging them out!

I'd love to claim this idea as mine but I have borrowed it from another forum.

For god’s sake. I know exactly where you got this from and it’s as tedious and unfunny on here as it’s become on there after literally years of people using it to reply any kind of neighbour dispute post thinking they’re being original.

It also doesn’t work, because someone on there tried it.

@clairethewitch70

I live in Woodland, last year, during nesting season, my neighbours cut down over an acre of very mature trees. It is a SINC, bordering SSSI, with protected species and Ecology at the council couldn't give a shit, saying it's their land. Lots of the trees previously had TPO's on them, which were removed and replaced by putting a SINC on the whole site.

Hell's teeth!

What is wrong with some people?

And for the council to ignore it is shocking - TPOs on trees in private gardens are still enforceable. I'm surprised the council didn't;t slam them with fines if only to get the cash in. I think they must have Friends In High Places

People become emotionally attached to plants. I think people who never gardened don't realize how strong the attachment could be. Years ago I had some work done on my house and the builder didn't warn me he would be ripping out 5 shrubs. It was really upsetting.

The same could be said of people who never had a pet.

Some people perhaps never get attached to anything ever!

I get why OP is upset.

That's dreadful they cut down the tree. It does make me wonder, with it being in no mans land, if there is a story behind the tree. Could have been planted in memorial to somebody. Seems odd the houses were built around the tree.

Find out where they park their car and strew bird seed near it early every morning. They will never work out WHY it is always covered in wood pigeon shit

So who DID the tree actually belong to?

If the tree wasn't theirs to cut down then you can report them to the council. They may be fined and may have to replace the tree with another one.

I really feel for you, OP, because we have mature trees along the line of gardens behind our house. One neighbour hates them and is always hounding us all to cut them down but we’ve all refused and they can’t do anything about it as the trees aren’t on their land.

I think some posters are getting a bit carried away though. Given the description of the tree’s location, I suspect it’s unlikely there’s a TPO on it (there isn’t on ours even though they’re all over 100 years old). If the tree is in an alleyway/no-man’s land, there isn’t really anyone who the OP can report the tree cutting neighbour to. Yes, it’s shit, but at least she didn’t cut the entire tree down and if it really is just pollarded, it will grow back. However, OP will need to do something to stop her doing it again in the future.