Neighbourly disputes over blackberry bush?

[Lilianna123]

Next door have a large blackberry bush, the roots of the bush are in their garden but the bush is overhanging and growing through our fence.

Me and the kids picked some of the blackberries (ones hanging over our side) and made a blackberry pie. Presuming the neighbour had seen us picking them, she has now left a note through our letterbox claiming these blackberries 'belong' to her.

Surely if she was that bothered by them, she'd have taken measures to ensure the bush only grew over her side. This has resulted in nasty looks being thrown across the driveways and small snide comments being made to us.

Who's in the wrong here?

A thornless blackberry? That's genius!
I got told off by a 4 year old today because I was picking blackberries from his part of the road and they were his. He was right. We live on a private road so they were his but they were just sitting there going to waste.

She is a tight wad, as said on another thread does anyone want 600 pounds of plums from my garden, they overhang two other gardens, my neighbours can have all they want.

Anyone on MN can have as many as they want. Just turn up.

Wait till she is sat in the garden. Pick all the BlackBerries, eat them like a dirty bastard, proper loud mmm noises, smashing them into your face. Say nothing to her even if she talks to you, finish up with a loud belch then go I

Oh, and I would cut the bush back and dig up any roots on my side and hand them back to her so that none of the remaining fruit on my side ripen. But I'm a spiteful cow.

Make her this pie

So she's upset you've plucked the fruit from her bush bramble that she's let grow into your garden. Jog on

Am wondering now if I should tell the neighbours they're welcome to the blackberries on their side of our hedge. I'd always assumed they'd help themselves if they wanted but maybe they think they're not allowed. We normally get about 3kg from our side so don't really need the other side as well

anyone want 600 pounds of plums from my garden
Me! Where are you?

I love going out blackberry and bilberry picking.

Wait till she is sat in the garden. Pick all the BlackBerries, eat them like a dirty bastard, proper loud mmm noises, smashing them into your face. Say nothing to her even if she talks to you, finish up with a loud belch then go

PMSL!! Love it, I'd smoosh them all into my face and look over while smooshing more in my mouth like a complete mad thing! Hilarious!

I asked our lovely neighbour if I could cut her bush back (snork!) and picked loads of her cooking apples meanwhile. She can't reach them, she's very frail, bless her. I made her and the other neighbour apple sponge. She said I can help myself to the rest. Yipee, the other tree is eaters!

I remember when I was a child people who had apples trees in their gardens would put a box or several of them outside their gates with a sign saying 'help yourself'. Some would even hang paper bags up too.

Do people still do that?

CatNip, what's your address? I'm on my way!

OP, you might be technically breaking a law, but I don't see this ever coming to a courtroom. I would be asking her to make good the fence, which is definitely her problem.

Poverty - sorry for your loss

I would love your plums Catnip!

Plum crumble sounds amazing :)

OP, your neighbour sounds like a right trout. Don't see how anyone could get worked up about kids making a pie.

Blackberry plants are weeds - why have them in your garden? Just chop down and throw over fence.

Offer her the branches from your side back with a slice of humble blackberry pie?!

Post the blackberries back through her letterbox.

What a strange woman. The only way to react is to talk to her and laugh heartily at her note saying you thought it was a joke. You don't want years of awkwardness ahead of you. Tell her that she's welcome to come in your garden at a pre arranged time to pick them or should you prune it as you'd like to have an arrangement that suits you both. Will be hard to keep the sarcasm at bay.

pigsDOfly yup they do - came across big box of apples outside a house last year wiht a 'please take some' sign when I was out biking. Was a lovely break having a crisp apple :-)

Oh my goodness, blackberry plants are not weeds! That is why when I go blackberry picking, my receptacle comes back half empty. The thornless variety sounds best though.

I'm irrationally laughing at going out and shoving fist fulls into your gob in plain view and then belching before going back inside. It sounds like a mad monty python sketch.

Op. Cut hers back out of your garden and get your own thornless plant. Then keep saying to her that you hope she is not stealing YOUR blackberries.

Are you not tempted to shout "get orf my land!" Malcom, in your best country accent?

Pick some more, bake another pie. Use surplus pastry to write 'DO ONE' on the top and give it to her.

My neighbours have an apple tree and I knocked some from the overhanging branches down today to make a crumble with. There are always loads of windfalls in my garden too which I use if I get to them before the bugs. Neighbours have never said anything about me using them.

People are weird!

Oh another thing I must add, said blackberry bush was there way before they even moved in!