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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU Or is this just tragic? What can I do?

215 replies

TigerTooth · 20/04/2019 10:58

I have a lovely (Ok - very child friendly) but still lovely mature garden.
We're away a lot, for months at a time sometimes, and backing on to our garden is a council estate. At the end of our garden, on the other side of the fence, so not ours, were lovely mature trees.They gave us and neighbour privacy and were beautiful.
New neighbour over the fence has cut the trees down, the whole lot, we now have a lovely view of his home - NOT.
I know I'm not BU as they were gorgeous mature trees but I'm posting really to vent and also to ask any green fingered MN's wwyd? I need something that grows super quickly and not too wide, that will look after itself whilst we're not here. He has also bought with him a menagerie of cats who shit in my garden daily.Any ideas on effective cat deterrents? We've tried a few to no avail. It stinks in the hot weather until we've been round and collected all the cat poo. I miss my green country garden.Before and after pics, it doesn't even look like the same garden but if you look at the trampoline then you can see the extent of his butchery. Any ideas on how to speedily cover the damage?

AIBU Or is this just tragic? What can I do?
AIBU Or is this just tragic? What can I do?
OP posts:
Thesuzle · 20/04/2019 17:02

I think the point here is that they completely cut the trees down, they could have been cut to just above the height of the fence, which would have looked better, (out of interest look the trees up with the council, there might just have been TPO’s on them
Re: the cat poo, gather it up daily and fling it back over the fence, then try all the known deterrents against the cats.

spaniorita · 20/04/2019 17:14

As someone who's neighbour has 4 40ft leylandei trees along my back border, please please don't plant them. I actually think it's illegal under the antisocial behaviour act to plant them on a border but I may be wrong. Some beautiful waft floaty eucalyptus would look nice, a bit of privacy but let light through.

Dontsweatthelittlestuff · 20/04/2019 17:28

You never had a green country garden as your own garden in s severely lacking in plants.
Move the shed, trampoline and others bits forward and then plant a thuja Plicata Hedge. Not expensive to buy and quick growing. I wouldn’t let it grow to talk though and would probably keep it at around 8 ft. Stay away from the bamboos and leyandi as they are both ugly, crap for wildlife and bamboo can be quite sharp if you have young kids about.

Fiveredbricks · 20/04/2019 17:53

OP google screening plants and shrubs. You can buy about 10 almost mature for about £250 - £500 and within 2 years they'll have grown back to the original height.

Any decent neighbour would've asked before cutting them down. The council will have only cut them down if he requested it. But equally that property may be privately owned and just rented out thanks to the 'right to buy' abusing twat brigade who then just rent them out.

saraclara · 20/04/2019 18:05

@Cobblersandhogwash
I didn't read any snide comments about a council estate. Just that her garden backs onto one. That's a fact.

People are commenting on why she felt the need to specify that it was council. Why not just say housing estate?

saraclara · 20/04/2019 18:08

I think the point here is that they completely cut the trees down, they could have been cut to just above the height of the fence, which would have looked better, (out of interest look the trees up with the council, there might just have been TPO’s on them
The neighbour's garden is clearly very small. The depth of those trees would have eaten into what little space they have. I have a similar issue in my own garden. one of my laurels for instance, is about 8-10 feet deep. It made sense for them to come out. The roots might also be undermining the foundations.

Spideryplant · 20/04/2019 18:11

I'm not entirely sure what the relevancy of it being a council estate is.

(No, I haven't rtft)

littlemeitslyn · 20/04/2019 18:16

Do you mean domage which is pity, fromage

Is cheese

MRex · 20/04/2019 18:19

I expect that's just what she calls it, to distinguish it perhaps from another housing estate nearby or the big Victorian houses round the corner or whatever. We have "the ugly flats up the road" and "the normal flats up the road". I'd not tell someone they live in what we call the ugly flats, but it's just a way of distinguishing them (they are incredibly ugly). I'm not sure that people need to read so much into it, the way we refer to places just gets ingrained and she didn't say anything pejorative that I noticed.

Tevion10 · 20/04/2019 18:24

I feel your pain op I loved the privacy some tress gave me and then a new neighbour cut them down. But what to do they where on his side to do as he wished.

AlexaAmbidextra · 20/04/2019 18:33

Did they leave that awful mess in your garden or is that theirs?

user1511042793 · 20/04/2019 18:36

Why is council estate relevant. Unfortunately I think it is for you.

gairytoes · 20/04/2019 18:40

YANBU. Seems needlessly destructive.

Singlenotsingle · 20/04/2019 18:44

She knows the difference between fromage and domage, itsme. She's not stupid.

As for the trees, OP, plant something beautiful. Not leylandii!

minisoksmakehardwork · 20/04/2019 18:46

Yanbu in that the trees possibly had nesting birds in them and therefore should not be cut down at this time of year.

That said, I can see why they would have been done. There appears to be little distance between their house and yours so I imagine it would have dominated the light in their garden.

Personally I would investigate whether they were allowed to remove the trees with the council. But accept that if they were, or even if not, they might have had a very dark garden which wasn't enjoyable.

We moved into a home with mature trees so I know how you feel. It's so lovely having dappled shade in the afternoon etc. But they are much more sparsely planted than those.

Cobblersandhogwash · 20/04/2019 18:49

@saraclara because it actually is a council estate? Nothing wrong with stating facts.

Iris1654 · 20/04/2019 19:03

I think that the OP stated council estate for the simple reason that council housing is rarely the prettiest.

It’s not necessarily snobbery, they are usually ugly....dons hard hat!

Spideryplant · 20/04/2019 19:09

And if you plant leylandii you are the WORST sort of neighbour.

iMatter · 20/04/2019 19:19

Is that your garden in the first picture?

FrancisCrawford · 20/04/2019 20:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Schuyler · 20/04/2019 20:29

Sorry, it must be so upsetting to have such a clear view of a COUNCIL house.

BayandBlonde · 20/04/2019 20:32

Their house is ugly?!. That's rich, your garden looks like a shit tip.

Raspberry88 · 20/04/2019 20:42

if you plant leylandii you are the WORST sort of neighbour.

Yep. This. I can't believe anyone is surprised that someone would take down trees in such a small garden. Do you have any idea what roots do to houses?

MaybeitsMaybelline · 20/04/2019 20:56

Please do not get let and I, they grow enormous and make any neighbouring properties owners lives a misery.

I have been one of those neighbours, my paths were green, they were impossible to maintain and trim at my side due to the size and they left the house in darkness. I suffered hugely for five years until the neighbour finally saw the light, no pun intended, and cut them down.

I replaced the trees with a six foot fence which we both appreciate.

MaybeitsMaybelline · 20/04/2019 20:56
  • please don’t get leyandi
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