My neighbours' overgrown house

No workmen have so far turned up today.
I am sure they haven't finished - they have left a ladder at the back.
Maybe another lot will deal with the big trees?

Eloethan - just waiting at the moment to see how it ends up, next door!

I answered this at soop's - I don't know if the neighbours are broke or misers - but the council can put the bill on the next sale of the house.....

Alie Will the neighbours get the bill for all this work?

I hope the garden is quickly sorted out and that you are able to sell your house AlieOxon. It would be nice if you could move nearer to your daughter and I hope it will be possible for you. I expect you can do without worrying about the neighbours' garden when you have other things to sort out. Hope it all works out for you.

This is part of my problems Eloethan.
My health is not good and my daughter wants me to come back to Oxford....whether this is financially possible I don't know, but it certainly would have been difficult to sell my house with that next door - and I now have to get it back into decent condition, it hasn't seemed worth doing stuff until now!

I see what you mean granjura when you say people should be able to leave their gardens overgrown if they wish to. But to some extent when you're living in close proximity to other people, I think you should have some consideration for them.

I think it would be perfectly reasonable to have a fairly wild, "wildlife garden" - these can look quite attractive or at least reasonably inoffensive. But to have a garden that is completely overgrown with weeds and which is visually very unappealing I think is inconsiderate - even if the garden didn't affect the neighbours' fences, gutters, etc., etc.,

I would hate to live next door to a garden like that and I'm sure some other people would feel the same - thus making it more difficult for the person next door to sell.

Up now.
dorset, I hope the occupant knew what was happening...

Near where my DS lives was a house that was absolutely covered in wisteria. By covered I mean you couldn't see the front door or any of the windows. How the occupant ever got out was a puzzle. I even posted photos on Facebook because people didn't believe me and I wanted a few friends to see such a place. Last November I was staying with the family to look after the children, the house was on the route to school. There were workmen taking the wisteria down. Being a nosy sort of person I had a chat with the foreman. It turned out that the elderly occupant was in hospital, the house is a council house and the council decided to take advantage of the occupant being away to sort the place out. The foreman told me that the vine was growing on the inside walls as well as the outside, She obviously had a really nice garden at one time, judging by the amount of garden tools and really nice flower pots. My 4 year GD was quite disappointed as she always felt it was like Sleeping Beauty's castle.

NOT complaining. Just still sleepy and not yet dressed....

Going out to sing this afternoon!
They will have left when I get back. Dark.

I could not agree more, jingle!

Don't you complain now!

Wednesday and I woke to the sound of the big shredder going on.....and on....

Maybe I should do the lottery!

I think if they are doing the lot they won't finish today.
The lorry with earth has gone. I think they are now waiting for the shredder which dealt with everything yesterday.

Galen a) cost... b) difficulty of construction with a lot of large old hedge roots....would like to....maybe if I win the lottery?

Not a glimpse of the neighbours.

You could put up a wall or fence as long as the footings are on your property not theirs.i it's only the boundary hedge whi is theirs not the boundary.

So far today they have filled the cleared bit at the back - which was 6' deep in dead branches etc - with another 6' pile of cut stuff, and I don't mean a little one. They are carrying on down the garden. Wilderness.

The front is clear except for the root of the pampas grass - that could be left, I hope. Oh, and the dead car. I guess someone else will remove that.
It looks very sad now it is exposed, it wasn't visible at all before.

Puzzlingly, there is a lorry at the front with a load of what looks like good earth.

Allie great news !! might they finish the job to-day ? do you think they may tackle the massive tree or will it be left as it is.Any sign of the neighbours to-day ? at least the property will be easier on the eye for you.

Hallelujah. Hope they do a good job for you Allie

Oh yes, the workmen have arrived today about 8.30.

I would love a high wall, I could grow fruit trees against that.....
.....but unfortunately that boundary belongs to THEM and is a very untidy hedge, kept at 6' on my side and was out of control on the other until the workmen yesterday gave it a rough cut.

I am actually flabbergasted to think what they have let the ivy etc do to their house!

The people on the other side, in the next semi, have put up a high fence recently.

From what I have read of this on-going nightmare, Alie's neighbour has brought the concept of "jungle" to a whole new dimension. Gardens can encroach on their neighbours' property, damage adjoining buildings, pull down fences, spread weeds etc to say the least and this is a case in point.It is not a case of a lovely wild flower meadow cum haven for butterflies! I do so hope this is the end of this particular nightmare for you Alie and that there are no unpleasant repercussions for you. They say good fences make good neighbours - in your case maybe a 20 foot wall or a 25 foot"death strip" might be preferable!

Thanks Anno- if it does cause damage to other properties, as said, it is very different. As a keen gardener I'd hate to live next to my best friend in the UK... as their garden is such a mess. But as long as it is kept to their side- I'd not feel it was my right to interfere.

Good luck AlieOxon.

Natural England recommends no hedgecutting etc during the bird nesting season, which, in England, is suggested to be between March 1st and July 31st, so you should be fine Alie

Take my word for it, granjura, the state of Alie's neighbour's garden is not simply 'their own business' because of the extent to which it impinges on her property. I very much doubt that they have left it to run wild from any devotion to wildlife.