Well that’s my privacy gone

[frostedviolets]

I know I am probably going to be told IBU but I am so so upset.

Neighbour behind has rows of mature massive trees.
Mostly planted right against my fence so they lean in and left unpruned they cover almost half of my garden.

I constantly have to prune them back to the boundary which is a real pain in the arse but I love the privacy they provide, without them i can see straight into their house and garden and they mine.

Every year they get some bodger with a chainsaw to behead them all about half way down in a straight line so they look utterly ridiculous now they appear to be chainsawing them down completely.

All my privacy gone.
I’ll no longer be able to go into my living room or bedroom or garden without being clearly seen now.

I have an espalier tree growing in front of the fence that I am very careful to keep in a single flat layer so it doesn’t fall onto neighbours to have to keep pruning it but it’s small, it’ll be fucking years before it gets anywhere big enough to provide me with some screening.

WIBU to plant bamboo or even the devils work, leylandii or something?!
What grows mega fast and mega big..?

I’ll keep the side trimmed back so it doesn’t cross their boundary.

I need privacy!

@boylovesmeerkats The problem is that they are high maintenance plants and quite unforgiving when people don't keep on top of them. It can get out of control quite quickly. When looked after, it makes a very good, dense hedge which is good for privacy and as a noise/wind-break, plus birds love it for nesting.

Personally I prefer thuja because I think it makes a nicer hedge - it has a slight fragrance to it, the foliage changes to a slightly bronze colour in the autumn and it has the advantage of being able to come back from hard pruning. It's also a wee bit slower growing so possible to get away with clipping every 18-24 months rather than annually.

Net curtains let the light in and you can see out but they can’t see in. Maybe put some sort of higher screen nearer the house across the garden and grow fast growing climbers over it. Russian vine grows really quick

Buy some net curtains.

Leylandii: noooooo!

Poplar: Chef kiss

You can buy mature trees from specialist nurseries. Very uncheap but it’s possible.

At least you don’t have Joe and Petunia sitting under their carport staring at your house most of the day in summer. I do.

Agree about the bamboo if you get some keep it in pots, we just took three days to dig up a bamboo I had, ,it was getting to big for our garden, it was up again the fence, lots have grown through to next door garden but he doesn't mind it.

From reading this you complain about having to prune it as it was in your garden and then complain that they are chopping them down! Maybe you could get a higher fence and have your privacy whilst your neighbour can do as they want with their garden!

You can get special mesh fabric roller blinds made that let you see out but nobody can see in. They are very popular in hot countries for sun protection but also work well for privacy. Black actually works better for being able to see out than a light colour. Quite expensive though.

I sympathise. Our garden was completely private until the jasmine along my fence died. Now I can see my neighbour tinkering about with his car on his little bit of land beside us and he can probably see me. Didn’t realise how annoying it was being overlooked until now.

Would definitely recommend hornbeam. Dh has put a hornbeam hedge around our front garden and it’s lovely. Thick and green now and thick and golden brown in the winter.

Could you not buy Trellis from an online shop? Or perhaps not big enough it’s going up against a void of an old tree?

Bamboo spreads like wildfire. Cypress trees are tall and thin- look lovely, not outrageous £ either. Tbh if the trees belong to your neighbours not a lot you can do apart from strategically placed trees, All the best

Consult a horticulturalist on the best trees.

It's annoying that you don't have the privacy anymore, but I don't think the neighbours will be watching you quite as much as you seem to think? They won't see your every move, they have their own lives to live.

Don’t plant bamboo or leylandi. They both get out of control and will cause you hassle.
I would suggest a row of cotoneasters. They look better, grow fast, but then stop and are therefore easier to maintain.
Check them out:
www.mailordertrees.co.uk/collections/cotoneaster-trees

Isn't it illegal to chop down trees between 15 March and 15 September?

Is that an actual thing, IScream, or did you just make it up?

Pleached trees are your answer. We have pleached laurel. We planted them last year and we already have a lot of privacy. They’re not cheap though.

Are you doing something other people shouldnt see?
Is it really that interesting?
Most people are going about their everyday lives and dont give a jot about what other people are doing in their house or garden.

"I know it won’t matter to a lot of people but I am an intensely private person. I can’t stand the thought of being overlooked."

Have to wonder - Why did you buy a house that people can look into the upstairs if privacy is an issue - relying on someone elses trees for privacy is always risky?

I like my privacy and it would be a major factor in any house I lived in or moved to.

Are you really that interesting for them to watch you? If so move'

if you can't afford to move go get therapy!

Do you sit watching them in their house all the time? Why the hell do you think your neighbours are going to sit & watch your every move? I’m sure you’re really not that interesting.
And they may well have plans to put their own alternative screening up. Honestly, complete over reaction.

Are you really that interesting for them to watch you? If so Why the hell do you think your neighbours are going to sit & watch your every move? I’m sure you’re really not that interesting.
And they may well have plans to put their own alternative screening up. Honestly, complete over reaction.

Honestly, complete bitch reaction.

Go for the 'pleached hornbeam' OP looks amazing.

Don’t plant bamboo In the ground whatever you do. It takes over and appears all over the place, even uprooting patios. Speaking from bitter experience. It’s taken me 2 years to fully kill off the 22ft Of it across the back of my garden.

Isn't it illegal to chop down trees between 15 March and 15 September?

No - there’d be an awful lot of very bored and broke tree surgeons for half the year if that were true!

Are they definitely cut down? The only reason I ask is because I had a rather embarrassing experience not long after we moved into our current house. We had moved from a major city to a rural area and we back onto a farm. Not long after we moved in, much to my upset our neighbouring farmer "cut down" a number of trees and allthe hedges along the lane. We were horrified, imagining that it was all gone forever. We soon learned that this extreme pruning (i think its called pollarding) was normal and that, unbelievably, everything would grow back. Unfortunately I had made a bit of an idiot of myself by then.
I don't suppose it works for all types of tree, but I was amazed how these grew back, so there's maybe a small chance that that's what's going on with your neighbours. Is there any way you can find out exactly what they are doing and why? Even if they are definitely going, if you discover there is a sound reason for it it might make it a bit easier to put up with. Our neighbours on the other side had a giant redwood cut down last year but it was becoming unstable and would probably have come right through our gable end if it had fallen, so I was quite glad they did it! But if I hadn't known, it would have seemed destructive as it was a beautiful old tree.