Am I a CF if I plant trees in my garden?

[BigBlueBubble]

Hallo lovely people, can you please tell me if I’m being a CF?

My house is on a hill and NDN is further up the hill. My living room with big French windows opens into my garden. I have a 6ft fence which prevents NDN seeing into my living room if they’re in the garden. If they’re in the house the slope of the hill means they can look out of their window and just about see over the fence but that’s never been a massive problem.

However .. NDN has recently installed a raised deck so when they climb on it their heads pop above the fence and they peer over. And now they’ve put up a massive ugly orange gazebo tent right next to the fence and the peak is so high, because of the slope it feels like it’s towering over my house.

I can’t make the fence taller, it’s already the permitted legal maximum of 2m. But I’ve been advised that I can plant a row of tall trees and NDN can’t do anything about it because as long as it’s not evergreen there’s no legal restriction on the height. It will have leaves in the summer which solves my problem because NDN aren’t sitting out on their deck or putting up their gazebo tent in the winter.

My question is, am I a CF if I plant trees along my boundary to give me some privacy? NDN probably won’t be happy because I’m on the east and they’re on the west so the trees will cast a shadow over their deck and part of their garden. But they’ve already invaded my privacy with their deck and gazebo otherwise I wouldn’t be considering this as a solution.

Usually I’d say yes, but as it’s in response to their CFuckery I’d say no, plant away!

YeTalkShite is talking sense

Nikephorus

Plant away!!

No, but deciduous trees will take several years to be tall enough to be effective, I'm afraid.

YANBU and bonus points for the diagram.

1. They have not actually ‘invaded your privacy’. They are using their garden. ( how often do they really look into yours? )

2. You can also use your garden, plant trees if you want.

Plant but might not work. We’ve got similar - garden overlooks ours because of a slope.
The best thing was a willow structure. I made a willow dome for the kids and the tops grew very high and creates some privacy.

Our set up is very similar, the previous owners had planted a row of trees and they have been invaluable to our privacy. Especially when our cfn built a gazebo/partyshed opposite our bedroom and look over the fence all the time.

We are removing the trees soon to build an extension but YANBU to plant trees.

Go for clumping bamboo instead. It’s evergreen and exempt from high hedge laws.

Did they get planning permission for their decking? We are on a hill and it's difficult to deck and stay within the rules of height of 12inches above ground when you are sloped, otherwise you need to apply for planning due to privacy issues for neighbours.

Just a thought xx

Bamboo would grow faster too. BUT I understand it’s not good if you have pets

Well some trees get huge and some don’t.
You could plant amelanchier, hazel, elder maybe one tall thinnish birch, some flowering cherries are wide rather than tall. If you plant them close to each other they will grow more slowly as competing for moisture etc. Speak to the garden centre, they can prob make suggestions. Grow for your and their pleasure rather than just a screen.

Perhaps you could tell your NDNs that you’re considering planting some trees along your border to restore your privacy. You might mention the shade aspect too; presumably their gazebo is to shade their deck?

Trees are great for flood prevention much better than a boring lawn and they definitely can't complain since they've erected a towering eye sore in their own garden!

How about planting bamboo instead?

If they hadn’t put up the gazebo I wouldn’t be as bothered. Because of the slope of the hill, the peak of the gazebo is at eye level when I look out of the upstairs windows. So you can imagine how it looms over you when you’re downstairs in the living room or garden. It’s been up for a few weeks so it’s obviously going to be a permanent fixture in the summer.

Bamboo grows so bloody fast - if you’re allowed to plant that, do it. You can cut it back easily.

No, but deciduous trees will take several years to be tall enough to be effective, I'm afraid.

If you have the budget you can buy very large trees.

www.barcham.co.uk

One of our side borders is a hedgerow and the cfn that side hacked some of it away so it was left with a gap, we planted a laurel bush there and within 6 mths it has really filled out and it makes for good privacy.

If you do plant be careful not to shade all your garden.
Can you build a trellis to grow clematis? That grows quickly and bushes out but is easy to manage.
It doesn't have to be a fancy affair just an arch to grow on.

Another one querying planning permission for their deck...

And planting trees is always a good thing.

If you have the money you can buy boxed / pleached trees, something like a boxed lime tree.

Essentially this is a tree trimmed to have a square shaped lollipop style head with the leaves at the height of the top of the fence. It will give instant screening, but depending on the length of the fencing, can be pretty expensive.

The bonus however is the encroachment into your garden is limited, and it's pretty much instant

Might cost a bit but you could put in a row of pleached trees like this

www.paramountplants.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/pleached-trees-holland-park.jpg

I was planning to get pleached trees that are about 3m tall and put them side by side to form a “hedge on stilts”. Bamboo would be cheaper though! I was quoted £1k for five trees. Is bamboo still exempt from hedge laws if it’s evergreen bamboo?