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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think we should be allowed to pull up our NDN’s stupid tree!!

417 replies

QueenofmyPrinces · 08/05/2018 17:41

I live in a crescent and there are about 5 of us who have gardens that all kind of back on to one another.

In one of these gardens is a huge tree that is a total PITA! It’s at the end of their garden and some of it hangs over in to ours.

All winter our entire decking area and the lawn of our garden are COVERED in dead leaves that fall from the stupid tree that we have to go and rake up every day, and then every summer our entire garden is covered in bloody annoying soggy blossom petals and stuff which makes it looks awful and so messy.

We’ve had to buy one of those leaf blower/hoover type things because it’s the only way we can keep on top of it and we can’t actually play out in our garden with the toddler/baby until we’ve hoovered up all the crap that falls from their tree.

Last summer we looked in to our rights and as a result we hacked off all the branches that overhang our garden but it doesn’t solve anything because the other 90% of the tree still exists and its leaves and soggy blossom bits are still blown all over our decking/lawn every bloody day.

I can’t even explain how pissed off I am by it and every year the problem just gets worse as the tree gets bigger and bigger.

A few of the other surrounding neighbours have voiced their anger too because their gardens suffer that same way ours does and two of the neighbours gardens are practically in the shade all day because the big tree blocks the sunlight out.

AIBU to think that surely there’s something more we can do? Can a house owner be forced to have a massive tree removed if it impacts on everyone else?

OP posts:
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14
fairylightsdown · 08/05/2018 21:52

That's beautiful @elphane

Sorry OP, I can't take you seriously complaining about nature making your garden look untidy. You'll be complaining about a bird pooing in your garden next

It's a beautiful tree and you are very lucky to have something so old and stunning in a nearby garden.

ConstantCraving · 08/05/2018 21:52

Hoovering even ...

teaandtoast · 08/05/2018 21:54

Weirdy - is it possible to make a flat area elsewhere? Sounds like it'd be worth it.

FormerlyPickingOakum · 08/05/2018 22:02

People who object to trees and greenery in gardens should be made to live in the Sahara desert in a hermetically sealed plastic box.

I think it is worth remembering that most gardens tend to be unnatural and man-made features that wouldn't exist if nature and flora and fauna had their own way.

The sycamore we suffered created shade covering an enormous area and prevented light from getting to flowering shrubs. Since its removal, our shrubs have begun to blossom and grow, and now attract bees and cabbage whites (I've been planting a bee friendly garden for a few years now).

The positive environmental impact of removal could be argued to be greater than retaining the tree in this regard. That said, I no longer have the copious volume of leaves to mulch so have to rely on greater composting, but I'd much rather support bees than have sacks of leaf mould.

BarbarianMum · 08/05/2018 22:03

It's a cherry tree. Blossom in spring then leaves in autumn. Big deal.

Weirdy did your neighbour's enormous tree just appear one night too?

CocoaGin · 08/05/2018 22:09

People who object to trees and greenery in gardens should be made to live in the Sahara desert in a hermetically sealed plastic box

I don't object to trees at all. What I do object to is idiot developers like the one who built our house around a tree that is twice the height of it, has got a huge canopy and wasn't meant to be on a boundary between two small gardens Sad.

TheFirstMrsOsmond · 08/05/2018 22:42

in the winter once all the leaves have fallen off the problem is sorted. Well, until the spring arrives and it starts all over again

Surely this has to be a parody - how come anyone write something so joylessly blind to the world around them? OP do you take no pleasure in the cycle of the seasons, growth & renewal, "earth's immeasurable surprise" as the poet Philip Larkin called it?

GladAllOver · 08/05/2018 22:45

I'm so glad to see the comments on this.

The tree is natural. Decking isn't.

If you had a real garden instead of decking (made from trees that had been cut down somewhere else) the leaves would just naturally degrade, returning their ingredients to the soil.

YABU

YorkshirePuddingsGreatestFan · 08/05/2018 22:52

You have my sympathy.

I've lived here 22 years. When I moved in, next door had a small tree and some shrubs but they were small and didn't bother us. We used to be able to sit in the sun in the back garden and used it a lot.

He never bothered with the garden and has since passed away. His son lives there now, but spends most of his time at his girlfriends house.

The tree is now taller than the house and has a huge spread on it. The shrubs are all dense and are about 15ft high now. We get no sunlight at all in the back garden. I can't grow summer bedding plants anymore, I've lost other plants, the lawn is patchy and looks a mess and I'm fighting a constant battle with moss on the paving.

It's also blocked the light into the rooms at the back of the house, so even on a nice sunny day like today, we were sitting at the dining table at 5.30pm with the light on as the room was dark.

I have asked him if he could cut it back but he said he's not fussed about the garden as he doesn't use it. The council won't do anything as it's deciduous tree and shrubs, so it's not causing a problem all year round.

It's really annoying that my garden has been spoiled and our house is dark inside just because he can't be bothered with his garden.

Flutist · 08/05/2018 22:59

If it's a cherry tree and you chop it down, it will send up suckers from the remaining roots and you will end up with a forest of small cherry trees. You will have to hire a stump grinder and literally grind all of the stump and roots out of the ground.

Also your neighbour probably likes their tree and doesn't want it cut down. It provides shade and privacy. My neighbour cut their tree down (because it dared to drop leaves in their new hot tub) and now we can see into each other's windows. So I planted the fastest growing tree I could find in order to restore my privacy. Arguably the situation for their hot tub is worse now than it was before!

itswinetime · 08/05/2018 23:02

The house is rented and the tenants hate the tree too. They spoke to the landlord about it last year (when one of the neighbours had first spoken to the tenants about the leaves/shade issues) but the landlord said he wasn’t interested.

Have you spoken to him though? Is he not interested as in I don't want to pay to have it trimmed back...or adamantly pro tree staying as is? If it really bugs you and the other neighbors so much I'd have a wip round and contact the landlord offering to have it cut back/down. I would think if he doesn't have to pay or do any work he probably won't care. Unless his very pro tree in which case have you thought about starting a natural confetti business?? Wink

SimonBridges · 08/05/2018 23:12

What I do object to is idiot developers like the one who built our house around a tree that is twice the height of it

I imagine they bought the land and didn’t realise there was a tree preservation order on it.
(Also, dare I suggest that the tree was there when you bought the house)

SteamTrainsRealAleandOpenFires · 08/05/2018 23:21

Oh let me guess...

OP lives in a house with a very nice sea view, well it would have, if the neighbour didn't have the tree in the way. Which she could add a few quid on the asking price of the house, she decides to sell up.

Grin Grin Grin

Coyoacan · 09/05/2018 00:35

My NDN cut down all their trees because birds sit in them, and birds might shit on the plastic grass. You have to wonder if people like that have a soul

I knew someone many years ago who bought land in a forest and then cut all the trees down.

Bloody hell, if people don't enjoy nature, they should live in a city centre where it is seldom a problem.

sleep5 · 09/05/2018 00:55

I have the same leaf problem. I paid a tree surgeon to cut it back a couple of years ago but it's grown back as my side is sunny. If you search forums on this topic then you'll find people suggesting ways to slowly kill the tree but I'd avoid that as you could be prosecuted - though it sounds as though your neighbour wouldn't care.

TattyFrench · 09/05/2018 01:22

I've got neighbours who I call the 'Tree Killers', if me and FC see them in the village we do dead pan faces, whilst doing dagger eyes and whisper in hushed tones to each other "there're the Tree Killers".
Stupid people bought a house with old, established beautiful trees that hosted a whole eco system and so many birds glittering about. The trees were at least 100 years old but they 'spoilt the view' so they slowly got all 3 hacked down at 8am on 3 different Dubday mornings. Blink and they were gone. Bastards. Why buy a house that has beautiful trees? Go and buy a Wimpy house.
I hate nature killers.

Monty27 · 09/05/2018 01:40

When you sell the house on I hope the new owners call it Treegate.

Monty27 · 09/05/2018 02:02

Cherry Treegate even. It sounds lovely and you sound too wrapped up in PFB.
Enjoy the beauty.

Nooblynoo · 09/05/2018 02:16

What kind of tree? How old are the houses?

Speak to the council.

Nature is nature, how lovely to have a tree with blossom.

LauderSyme · 09/05/2018 02:28

YABVU. You shouldn't be allowed and I'm glad most of the thread has told you so!

However, in the spirit of friendly advice... Most district and borough councils have a tree specialist who will investigate if there is an actual problem with the tree, like it is diseased or dangerous. They can also advise whether consent is needed for works to be carried out. Tree works sit with the planning department.

I bet you ten pounds that the landlord not being interested means they don't want to shell out for chopping it down. Arboriculture isn't cheap and I've never had a landlord yet, in twenty years of renting, who was willing to spend more money than absolutely necessary. Sometimes not even then. And that includes the nice ones. Perhaps if you and your disgruntled neighbours clubbed together and offered to pay, the landlord would let you.

MrsTerryPratchett · 09/05/2018 02:28

That looks like cherry blossom which doesn't last for more than a couple of weeks and doesn't come from giant trees. Hmm

Sidelook · 09/05/2018 02:51

Yanbu, I feel your irritation op. I have a very tall bamboo tree at the back of my garden that I absolutely hate. Stupid leaves shed and have to be raked up. The branches bend over into my garden and the ndn’s. I wish the owners of it would get rid of it. And next to it is a horrid laylandi(wrong spelling)tree that grows to a large height!
Originally there was only 3 houses with very long back gardens. Sadly they were demolished, brought by a developer and replaced with 10 new builds with added trees to the boundary! So it’s extra annoying because our houses were there first. I hate bamboo trees!

MrsTerryPratchett · 09/05/2018 02:54

Bamboo is a grass not a tree.

Leylandii are fucking horrible though.

Sidelook · 09/05/2018 02:59

The bamboo tree is in the photo. It’s so tall and a bastard to cut through the stems. They are really thick and the leaves fall off and go crispy all over the grass. Don’t get me started on the leylandii they should be banned

To think we should be allowed to pull up our NDN’s stupid tree!!
MrsTerryPratchett · 09/05/2018 03:02

It's the biggest grass in the world! Literally!

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