Asking neighbours for money?

[DunePeyton]

So my elderly neighbours have a big corner plot garden which is ridiculously overgrown. Enormous sycamores, including one which has a forked trunk which fans out and blocks a fair bit of our daily sun, and a eucalyptus tree which sheds its bark all over our lawn (but that’s not my main issue). Hundred of shrubs, vegetables,
nettles etc.

My main issue is I feel continuously invaded by all of their out-of-control greenery that grows over (or through) our border line, leaving me no choice but to constantly cut it all back and fill up our green bin with it. I don’t even like the thankless task of gardening!

I have a fairly large back lawn and a bit of grass at the front and a full cut fills up my entire green bin and I haven’t got space for their crap also! I have jokingly suggested to themthat maybe a gardener might be a good idea, but they are adamant they will do it themselves-
onky problem is they aren’t doing it!

AIBU to ask neighbours for a contribution towards our green bin subscription as I strive to keep a low maintenance garden and so much of the garden waste that fills our green bin is from our neighbour’s garden which doesn’t seem fair. I get invaded on the other side too, but it’s not quite so bad as they have a gardener once a week. Am I right to be pissed off? I spent about an hour today getting pricked while cutting back their rose bushes which are always creeping over our walls.

It’s fine to ask. If they say no just throw the cutting over the fence.

I wouldn’t ask them because if they’re paying for it then they’ll expect to use the subscription themselves. You might find yourself out of pocket again.

I’d be more likely to ask them to contribute to the cost of a gardener. Ultimately as they’re getting older, sorting the garden may become an onerous task so there isn’t a quick fix to this.

You are allowed to cut anything that overhangs or encroaches onto your property and put it back on their land.

I wouldn't pick this fight. Quietly get a second bin yourself. If you get them to pay for it they will be even more inclined to leave you to fill it.

Why can't you use their green bin for their trimmings? If they are not doing any gardening then their green bin should be empty.

Most places you have to pay for garden waste bins, so unlikely they have one

By law you can offer the branches/leaves back to them to dispose of but you can't 'throw them over their fence' as this is classed as fly tipping. If they don't want the pruning back then you are free to dispose of them. They are under no obligation to contribute to this financially although they may help if you ask them.

Ah, let the roses grow! Roses tumbling over the wall - how absolutely lovely 🥀

If you ask for money and they give it they will look at it as they are paying you to do. Cut it and toss it in their yard. When they have to deal with it may e they'll change

you definitely can drop the trimmings back over the fence

in some horticultural/ permaculture circles the "chop and drop" technique is recognised as a wildlife-and-soil-friendly method of organic gardening - by dropping what's been chopped off near the stem of the plant it came from you're putting those nutrients back into the soil

nobody in the real world is going to accuse you of "fly tipping" for doing this, and it doesn't sound like these neighbours will even notice, never mind report it to anyone! you say they're adamant that they'll sort it out themselves, so if they say anything just smile sweetly and say you're leaving it for them to deal with.

If they have a large garden with 'hundreds' of shrubs, vegetables, roses, etc. surely it would be likely that they would have their own green bin. They said they would take care of their own garden so presumably they have the means to dispose of their own waste (when they eventually get around to it)?

This.

At least their garden will be a haven for wildlife and you'll get to enjoy bird song and roses.

I'd leave them to enjoy their garden, and just quietly cut back whatever encroaches. Or move to an apartment if you dislike gardening so much.

Put it in their green bin, or just throw it into their garden

Are they elderly to the point of being unable to do heavy gardening like strimming and cutting? Are they on a tight budget with limited disposable income?

id be inclined to offer an A/B option - do you want us to give you/your gardener access via our garden to cut back, or do you want to contribute to me getting a man in and we will throw the cuttings over the wall for now? Autumn is ideal for doing a big cut-back so put that idea to them now, and ask if they can let you know A/B by the end of July what they intend to do.

Why you ask them what they would like you to do. Explain the problem and see if you can put it in their bin. If they aren’t interested in solving the problem throw it over the fence. In Australia you are allowed to do this. If you aren’t and they complain find out legally what you can do.

Could you use netting to stop the plants?

Exactly what I was going to say.

Exactly what I was going to say @ScotInExile

YABU, it costs on average £32 for the year, which you’d need your own bin for your Marge garden maintenance.

You can also just put the overhangs back in their garden if it’s such an issue.

The trees where there when you moved in and you should have know there was going to be some low level maintenance from the tree’s.

When will this myth that you can cut back stuff and then dump it on their land, ever die?

You are permitted to cut overhanging branches/foliage.

You are not permitted to a/ keep it (from the days when this may be valuable firewood/timber) without asking or b/dump it back on their land without asking.

OP - speak to them, kindly, politely, and explain that their planting/trees are causing you a lot of work and cost in getting rid of waste. Could they offer you at least, somewhere to dump it, perhaps a compost area on their land that you can access over the wall, or into their green bins, if not consider trimming back from their side to stop it encroaching. Remind them if relevant that if it damages your property they may be liable.

I wish ours was £32 for the year. It's more than double that where I live.

One problem with returning the cuttings and making it wildlife friendly is that rats like living in heaps of discarded branches and stuff, especially by fences and houses. And in houses.

My elderly neighbour could no longer afford her green bin when the council started charging for it so she bags her garden waste and puts it in her general waste bin. Sometimes there are a few bags waiting to go in so I help her dispose of them. If we are going to the tip it's no problem, if there's room in our bin it goes in there and if she can't manage to move it I shove into her bin for her. It's not often she has that much as she keeps her garden neat.

I am just glad I don't have a neighbour like you, concerning yourself with your own needs and discounting those of your elderly neighbours. They have probably lived in their house for years, have gradually been overwhelmed with the garden, cannot afford help and have a moany neighbour badgering them. A kinder person would help them. Not you. You want to charge them for putting the cuttings YOU have removed in your bin. Nice.

Can I just say that I didnt realise councils charging for green bin waste was even a thing !

Surly if you cut it all back to your fence line then it only needs low maintenance?

It’s not something I’d harass elderly people about, no.

Once again, for the people not getting it - you offer the cuttings back to the neighbour, not throw them over the fence.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/trees/the-law

Once branches are cut off they should be offered back to the tree owner. If the owner doesn’t want them then you will be responsible for disposing of the prunings; you can’t simply throw them over the boundary into your neighbour’s garden!

You can ask them for a contribution but you can’t make them pay. Personally, if I knew I had elderly neighbours struggling with their garden, I’d just dispose of the cuttings myself and not be petty enough to ask for money.

Oh come off it.

OP is well within her rights to discuss this with them. She's not being confrontational in her posts, so theres no reason to believe she'd be mean or rude in person.

Do you know if they own their own home OP? If so, I'd say there's no way they "can't afford a gardener". I'd bring that up with them as an option and say what you've said here. Maybe they don't realise the impact its having on you.