to dislike my neighbours (kind of know I am being but still)?

[paprika88]

My neighbours aren't totally awful and we haven't argued but if I'm honest I don't like them much because of how they treat the enviroment.

The neighbours opposite us at the back, I kind of know I am being unreasonable but earlier this year they cut down all the beautiful tress and hedges which seperated our gardens (it was on their property). They also did away with their lawn and had hideous astroturf put down eradicating all sign of life because "it would be less hassle". They also put up a large shed to keep all the consumerist tat overspill from their house and installed a noisey (energy greedy) hot tube so they could "enjoy the outdoors" which creates more noise and keeps our little one awake.

We used to get a lot of bats in our garden in the spring through to early autumn but they haven't been this year. My tree chopping neighbours asked if I'd seen any bats and when I said no they remarked that it was strange they had disappeared and when I pointed out that the trees they cut down were a sources of food (bugs) and roosting for the bats and that they had no reason to return now they seemed surprised but shrugged it off.

All around me people are slabbing, decking and astroturfing their gardens with no thought to the negative longterm side effects such as flooding, more air pollution and less wildlife, it makes me quite angry.

The council round here provides a full range of recyclinging pick ups including food waste, plastics, metals etc. but on our street only one or two (including me) actually do it because having to sort waste is too inconvenient and spoils the look of the kitchen.

I know people will think I am being unreasonable but it just upsets me so much how inconsiderate people are of their enviroment and the other creatures. I do my best with my own patch of garden to encourage bees, incests, butterflys and birds but its like I am pissing against the wind.

Their unthinkingness just makes me dislike them on some level.

Personwithhorse, I do live in a flat atm. I grow herbs and love flowers.

The Royal Horticultural Society has been campaigning for the last 3 years about the increasing number of front gardens which have been paved over - 50% of the gardens in London. Not just the loss of wildlife but also the increase in flash flooding. They are advocating the use of non-porous materials, or designs using a hard track where the wheels go but low planting in between

Nowadays you require planning permission if you decide to tarmac your front garden.

Paprika - can I just say as a fellow tree and animal lover I adore your respect for wildlife and nature ❤️😊

Bah YANBU. We had some new neighbours move in who promptly tore out the entire back garden and built a nasty raised platform style decking thing complete with bright as fuck outdoors lights which they leave on most nights. The lights can be turned off, they just don't choose to.

Now they overlook everyone's garden by some feet AND the previously beautiful view is marred by their crappy tacky lights. It's doubly annoying that all they seem to do with the space is leave washing out for days on end until it's blown off their line.

They don't appear to ever be actually outside when the lights are on either. Pointless and annoying. I really don't like them.

Beautiful trees are the very reason we moved to our neighbourhoods. Two neighbours just sadly astroturfed their garden. It looks horrible! And hot tubs, oh dear. Yuck yuck yuck.

@BonsaiBear check with your planning authority, I believe they shouldn't be able to overlook other gardens.

I sympathise OP, I've just moved from a concrete jungle estate to a lovely area with loads of trees and bushes and all types of birds and I would be gutted if neighbours started astro turfing, and cutting stuff down.

Before Astro turf. Gravel and slabs at a guess. In our old house the entire front and back gardens where gravel. We got permission to remove the gravel and turf on all the front and half the back as we knew there was no drainage issues there as it used to be part of a huge field they built on.

@BlankTimes I love the permeable paving, thanks for the link! Educating people about alternatives is a great idea. Our drive is already paved (and somewhat covered) so it's not an option now, but it's something I'd keep in mind if we moved. And if someone talks about paving over a front garden for parking, now I can suggest this instead.

Wish we could do something about my allergies though. Permeable paving, hiring a gardener, nothing helps when I'm basically incompatible with nature.

I dislike your neighbours too, what ignorant fools.

I agree with you op - apart from the hot tub - I like to sit in mine and watch the bats, it's also very quiet unlike the blow up ones that sound like jet engines, I agree it's not very environmentally friendly though

OP I think you are being a bit judgemental. Whilst I can see your points and agree that your garden is better for the environment, many people struggle with dealing with gardens as it’s a lot of work. Go down any street in the UK and you will see unkempt gardens. Including mine. Because it takes time and a bit of knowledge/equipment.

My friend rented her house out for a year as she was working away. Tenants did not cut the grass once. It looked like a jungle with loads of random weeds and massively long grass. These weren’t bad tenants. They were normal people rushed off their feet with the stresses and strains of modern life. I can definitely see why a person like that would AstroTurf their grass. I absolutely detest AstroTurf, horrible stuff. But I can easily understand why people use it and don’t judge them for it. Ditto the shed. Hold a kid’s party (normal thing to do) and you’ll be deluged with plastic shite. Another kid, another delude. I can see why they’d need a shed.

They probably have no idea of the environmental impact of what they’ve done.

Thanks to all the supportive, nature loving responders to this thread. It has soothed my soul a bit to know that you are all out there doing your bit and being a part of the resistance!

I think sadly that is all you can do to some extent to do what you can on your little patch because people just get angry when you try and show them what they are destroying.

Many people here saying I am being judgemental and yes I suppose i am but sometimes its justified to be critical of what others are doing and in this case I am, very critical.

Anyway, I am going to channel all this energy into making my own garden as welcoming a haven for local wildlife as I can as well as get more involved in local conservation groups.

Thanks everyone!

I understand why people want 'low maintenance' gardens, but yes, they should think of the environment and I can understand you being upset by what they've done considering it's clearly had an effect on your immediate ecosystem.

It's a shame people pave over so many front gardens too, as that's doing a lot of damage. We only have a teeny front yard, but DH is planning to re-turf it.

Enjoy doing your garden @paprika88 - can't wait for DH to sort ours. Previous owners built a massive shed that covers about 20% of the small back garden, so we're hoping to dismantle it next year and get more of our garden back!