Neighbour does not like the look of my garden - threatening to sue

[craxmum]

A new neighbour has moved in last month (we are sharing a wall in a semi-detached property). She seems to have a major issue with the way my garden looks (just paid me a visit at 7am on Sunday to inform me that she hasn't slept properly since she had a party last night and her guests were apparently "aghast"). First thing she did after moving in was decking and astroturfing her back garden fence to fence (the bits that weren't already covered in concrete).

She did mention it a couple of times before, but I never thought it bothers her that much. Now she made a vague threat of suing me for damage to her assets, as apparently her house value and enjoyment of her property is impacted. I mean, she bought it a couple of weeks ago (at the normal market value as far as I can see from the open sources), surely she made the decision with full awareness of what my garden looks like? She added a couple of personal insults (about me being foreign etc) as well.

My garden is a bit informal allotment style. We grow berries, tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, beans, herbs - stuff like that, also have a couple of dwarf fruit trees. Sunflowers all over the place at the moment. I have two small children (3 and 5), they absolutely love it and they have their own little experimentation areas. There is a bit of lawn, but with two dogs it is not in great shape - trimmed, but with some bald patches. There is an occasional weed or two, or maybe ten. Plenty of butterflies and bees. A composter (of a posh type, fully closed and maintained, not leftovers rotting in a bin). There is a water butt and sometimes watering cans / other gardening equipment lying around. I mean, it is by no means perfect, and can sometimes be messy and looks quite rustic, but I absolutely cannot see what I can do to comfort her apart from ripping all vegetation out and paving over.
AIBU?

She sounds like she has issues, serious ones if a garden like yours affects her this way. If it was filled with rubbish, disgusting old mattresses and the like then she would have a point on devaluing.

Just remember 3 things
She has issues
She procured a house knowing your garden
She has issues (needed to be said twice!))

Gorgeous garden and you sound a wonderful, kind person.

Ndn is a loon, but maybe that has even brought about by her recent history and you will forge a good friendship, over a shared love of raspberries.

Sue you for what exactly?

OP your new neighbour sounds slightly unhinged!

Although I think her lack of sleep stems from her "friends" probably actually being snobby bitches who have their own gardeners and landscapes country mansions.

Your garden looks and sounds wonderful. But it definitely needs some handmade garden crafts in it. I'm thinking handmade bunting and a giant hula hoop loom with strips of fabric / carrier bags Loads of great ideas here:

artfulparent.com/nature-and-garden-crafts-for-kids/

Sounds lovely. Now if you had wind chimes, I'd have a problem.

You sound like a really nice person anyway so killing her with kindness would be ideal. But I would maybe think about cctv just in case. Hopefully this was a one off thing because she was drunk, but even so, no-one wants a drunk neighbour banging on their door first thing in the morning to whinge, and if she'll do that maybe she would try to ruin something.

Obviously she can't sue you so don't worry about that. But it's not nice to have neighbour problems regardless. Your garden looks very pretty by the way and it sounds really lovely.

“we don't do this in Britain in case if you did not know"

I’ll tell you something we really don’t do in Britain: sue people because we don’t like their gardens.

That’s because in the UK we have a grown up legal system where you can’t just sue someone whenever you feel like it - you need to have some sort of legal right that they have interfered with.

Maybe she should go and live in America. She sounds as stupid as a bit like Trump saying Theresa May should sue the EU.

Loving people’s suggestions on this thread (especially “off you fuck cunty chops” and putting up a scarecrow that looks like her, oh and the mooning garden gnome!) but your approach of killing her with kindness is probably a better one.

I think the scarecrow idea is a good one. You could get a few of those giant gnomes as well. She sounds like a nutter though so I would ignore her and not engage at all. I'm house-hunting at the moment and I have to say that astroturf is a big turn-off especially if combined with excessive concrete/decking. I would say that it is she who is bringing down the value of neighbouring properties. Her guests were probably admiring your rustic garden and thinking how boring her garden was!

Yes! to chickens, and a scarecrow, and gnomes, and a trampoline, a 15' swimming pool for the kids (right next to her fence), a barbecue made out of an old oil drum cut in half, windchimes, an Aeolian harp, birdscarers made out of old DVDs and hung in your fruit trees ... and anything else that will piss her off some more.

A rediculous comment to make to you .obviously doesnt know what a garden is suposed to look like to attract the birds and wildlife xx i would contact your local council / counciller and ask them for advice re possible harrasment and intimidation
she sounds a bit like both my neighbour one cut down a tree as soon as she moved in because she didnt like the birds sitting on it making a noise The one at the other side asking if he could cut down the whole tree in MY garden as it was getting too tall overhanging on to the area him and cutting out the sun He and his wife like to sit at in the back of their garden all day they also moaned about birds dropping messing up their patio the birds also sit on the telephone post and live directly above them They had been in the house for over 20 years no complaints then suddenly started moaning a few years ago about our tree

• Hello, middle aged stereotypical English/British woman here 🖐🏻

Your neighbour is mistaken. Your garden is very much in the style of both 'cottage garden' and 'slightly eccentric'. Both ever so English 😂.
Her garden on the other hand sounds appalling and contributes to flooding risks and the decrease of the bee/insect population.
Her garden sounds awful and would offend and upset me. But I'm English, so, obviously, I wouldn't complain ... - What @PinkSquidgyPig* said - with bells on!!!!!!

Laugh and close the door/walk away.... So her concrete and plastic grass is better than ur nature attracting, family feeding, enjoyable fun garden.... I'd put in a birdhouses, wind-chime and waterfeature too just to piss her off... 😂

Your garden sounds lovely, exactly what a garden should be! I can't for the life of me understand plastic grass

I think you should tell her to fuck off, and then for her audacity go out of your way to make life hard for her.

If she sues you, let me know if she wins.

My NDN's garden has been a weed-overgrown shitheap for the thirty-odd years we've lived here . . .

We are a nation of gardeners (and pet lovers) and gardeners most definitely don't do astro-turf 😂

Your garden sounds wonderful. This c f is well enough to host parties and well enough to traps round to your house way too early in the morning. Just ignore her she needs to keep her nose and opinions where they belong, on her side of the fence in her no class fake garden and let you enjoy Your perfectly normal garden. But c f never get the message, just tell her F off and then she'll understand

You have fox cubs. They must be adorable.

We had them once too.

They are adorable - but very stinky!

I haven't read beyond page 1, I'd only be thinking the obvious. I love your garden, it's the way I'm trying to get mine to be, but at 71, minus the kids and dogs.

Your neighbour's garden? Meh... Your neighbour? Something stronger than meh...

OMG given the choice between her very sterile sounding and not very enviromentally friendly garden and yours i would rather have your garden it sounds delightful, just ignore the snobby cow, people like her are the reason area flood more because there isnt grass and earth to soak up the rain

Forget the scarecrow, what you need is a wicker man...

Wow your garden looks natural and beautiful, her's sounds samey and clinical and downright boring. She should live next to my mum, who is elderly, and just lets her garden grow and grow, she is too tight to pay for a gardener or maintainance person (she can afford it), as I don't drive and have 2 kids with SN, its not easy to go up there. I live 50 miles away, and dh who does drive, works long hours.

Tell her to go right ahead, she will be quite rightly laughed at.

Tell her your garden is a designated wildlife conservation area. Unlike hers, which is fake. But she has no right to dictate to you how your garden should be, unless it is encroaching on hers and causing her property damage in some way, I believe?

I think the reason she is divorced is becoming apparent