To be furious that a sneaky neighbour has butchered two of the prettiest trees in my garden?

[MaBumble]

Our front garden has a lawn, a path that allows about 5 of our neighbours access to their back garden through a small locked side gate and a narrow path down the side of our house. There is a line of trees and bushes and a hedge cut by the council that separates it from the street. It's a end corner plot and other than the path is completely fenced off and private. They have right of access. Although most tend not to use it as we can all easily access our back garden through our garages, which have back doors.

One of the pine trees had a lovely cyclamen over lower branches that hangs over the path, and there is a lilac tree that also hangs over the path. I trim these back every year but have been waiting for the snow to bugger off!

Yesterday I came back from a last minute Easter egg hunt and spotted the same bastard had hacked the lower branches off the pine tree off - right to the trunk, and cut the cyclamen stem a couple of feet from the base. They also butchered the lilac tree. By cutting all the branches off on the path side. I'm gutted, and furious. Neither was blocked the path, you might have had to duck a bit. If they'd asked or left a note I would have explained I was sorting it out. It looks a bloody mess.

I have no proof which neighbour it was (although have a pretty good idea)

AIBU to want to 'accidentally' break the lock on the gate and they can bring their sodding lawn mower out through their garage? We've been here 7 years and have had no issues but I could honestly slap them stupid!

Ah well - mistakes do happen

Want to bet the actual tree butcher thinks you're referring to someone else?

not marking place for update

I wusses out. Went out and scrubbed the 'will die' out, started on the 'wank' then got bored. Now it just says
Tree butchering (clean spot) badgers (clean spot). I'll get round to the rest at the weekend.
I have done mad gardening, it's pristine. Spent a fortune on new plants, including a white lilac bush and a arch trellis that's firmly plonked over the path (not quite a tunnel .. But getting there). Was thinking of planting mimosa as I think that's ever green? And maybe dangle a skull ornament or two? No zombie gnomes, but a really cute gargoyle now lurkes under a camellia - they are meant to ward off baddies, right?

DH asked if I wanted him to just pee round the boundery while I was so busy marking territory, but decided it was too nippy out.

Are you going to find out if they have a legal right of access? cause if they don't I'd make sure to start locking the gate.

Oh sorry, yes - there's a covenant in the bunch of house papers. They have right of access. Nothing mentioned about the cement covered plank of wood that was just left dumped at the side of my house that makes it easier to get lawn mower up the 3 steps so that was brought to the tip. Just keeping things tidy you know :)

I would recgommend going here...www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=8 :- for more info regarding your problem.

Bugger it didn't work.

Of course, you could always blame the plank removal on the badgers...

Coronilla is another nice one to plant - is scented, flowers all year and is a quick grower too.

I think they were unreasonable about cutting it back, however I would not be happy having to duck under tree limbs to get to my garden when I had full legal right to be there and use that path, especially in wet or snowy weather. I don't think it is reasonable for you to leave them.

Love the name Spoony :)
I've uploaded a pic from march - last time it snowed a couple of weeks ago, judge for yourself if the path is blocked.

That link was fascinating RealAle, some proper horror stories their.

From what I can gather from that link I've done nowt wrong, but whoever cut my trees have - criminal damage.

So IANBU to be pissed off (especially considering I have always kept the path clear)
They ABVU not to have spoken to me first
And they ABVVU to have hacked my trees
I am probably BU for chucking the plank & writing obscenities on the path
(But to be honest it made me feel better so I don't care - like I said at work today 'I never said I was "nice". You want me to be "nice". Well, sod that'

thanks :), did you see what DH bought me for valentines?

I still think you are being a bit U if the trees are close enough to make me wet or snowy. But I also agree that they should not have taken the matter in hand. I suspect they had been cross about it for a while and had stupidly not mentioned it when it first bugged them so when they cut them back they figured that they would cut them far enough back that they wouldn't have to deal with them again for a long time.

I think you are BR for getting rid of the plank, you shouldn't have to deal with that even if it does make their life easier. I also think you are BR at being upset that they butchered the trees.

and on a different note, man, I am so glad I don't have to deal with snow!

Looks OK to me, tbh. If I got pissed off about it though, then the first thing anyone reasonable and sensible would do would be to write a note or knock on the door. Surely?

OP
Mimosa isn't winter hard in UK. I had one once as a summer patio tub plant, but had to be brought indoors in the winter.

Moonlight
What is Coronilla ?

That's kinda what I thought Jux. Am totally over the annoyance and have cleaned the path. On the plus side I have a very tidy garden, with lots of new plants - so if we get any sun soon can sit and just enjoy it :)

digerd - it's one of these

Thanks Moonlight. Pity they bloom in late winter and early spring as don't think they would have managed to bloom this year< sad face>

I had a Viburnum Tinus that blooms in late winter and early spring and has fragrant balls of white flowers. It was lovely in our previous normal winters , not like the last 4 years, but had it in a large pot and eventually outgrew it and died.

I know it's a slightly different scenario, but to get to the main road from our house we have to go through a ([public) alleyway. It's quite narrow, and runs alongside people's gardens. One property owner allows a rambling rose to grow over her back wall which then sticks out into the alleyway at about head height. After the 3rd time of it almost taking my eye out as I went through (dark winter's afternoon, and no street lighting) I went round to very politely ask the lady if she would mind cutting it back. As she possibly didn't go down the alleyway heself she might not have been aware of how dangerous it was. She moaned and complained and said she couldn't manage it herself (she is in her her 70s) , so I offered to do it for her. She refused saying that she likes it there to "deter burglars". I pointed out that it was a hazard, and that the path is used by lots of people, including all the village school children from this side of the village as that is how they reach the school bus, but she still refused permission. So I cut it back to the level of her garden wall and put the branches back over her fence.
I don't think it's unreasonable to do this if your access is being impeded - I seriously was worried about someone getting a rose branch in their eye and would have thought that that an appeal to common sense and good neighbourliness would work. Perhaps your neighbour also felt that the plants were impeding his access? Although he should have come and talked to you first....

MrsG I think you we're entirely reasonable there, and if my sneaky neighbour had talked to me I would have either allowed them to cut it back (but not as far back as removing 5 branches right to the trunk and leaving a big ugly gap) or said I was going to do it myself, as I have every year, and was just waiting for the snow to bugger off :)

Have you investigated who did it yet?

I'm pretty sure I know who dunnit, but no proof. Lets just say that there are only 2 pristinly tidy gardens - mine (to mark my territory again) and a retired couples, one of whom is the only one that I've ever seen being his lawn mower round the back ...