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Am I in the wrong ?

(40 Posts)
Beau1958 Thu 09-May-24 12:24:25

My neighbour who i get on with ok but he can be grumpy, has pulled all the ivy off of the fence and my rambling roses. They were part of the fence they have been there for years with a stunning display early summer. I now have to cut them down as he has exposed a rotten fence underneath. It’s his fence he has had to replace 4 fence panels but the fencers have left a 10 gap between the old and new fence. He can’t see this his side it’s under his laurel. I have told him about it and he’s just said I’m moaning !
Not only have I lost my beautiful roses I now have a huge gap. I’m fuming. Am I being unreasonable as it is his fence.

NotSpaghetti Mon 13-May-24 12:57:04

Presumably if the 10" gap has laurel on the other side you won't be looking through it to your neighbour?

Maybe plant something evergreen (a laurel?) your side of the gap if it is annoying you.

Beau1958 Mon 13-May-24 12:51:28

The gap is the fence hasn’t been taken right to the end post to post. So the end of the new fence has no post.

LovesBach Mon 13-May-24 11:15:32

Your neighbour seems to have been rather uncaring about your lovely roses and ivy, but some people don't understand why you get upset if they cut down plants. Your roses, if you still have the roots, should certainly grow again. How about a trellis, on posts? You could get two metal supports that need to be hammered into the ground, and then have a slim trellis panel nailed to the posts to support the roses.

WelwynWitch3 Mon 13-May-24 09:37:21

Beau1958. The Ivy had to go it damages and weakens things it attaches to. There are still beautiful shrubs and roses that can fill a 10 inch gap, which isn’t huge in gardening terms, without climbing up the fence. Our Rhododendrons are giving a lovely colourful display this year and the Acers, I love the red ones, are good too. Roses are my favourites and I do have a number of roses bushes that do not have to climb a fence.

nanna8 Mon 13-May-24 09:02:25

Wouldn’t care about the ivy but upsetting to lose roses. If it is his fence you will just have to put up with it I suppose.

dizzygran Mon 13-May-24 08:55:41

Fencing problems are difficult. We have a lot of fence - mostly our responsibility. Two of the neighbours have put plants on it - one of the plants comes right over into our garden - not a pretty one. The other is over the top of the fence = I think they put a trellis on the back of our fence which is a bit naughty. I would suggest you erect a fence in your garden to grow your roses. Ivy can be a problem it does tend to take over. Not worth falling out over though.

Dcba Sun 12-May-24 17:26:55

No you haven’t lost your roses…unless the roots of the bush have been dug up. Nothing revives an ageing rose bush than to be cut right back, given a good feeding of rose food and then a good watering and left to spring up new shoots. Before you know it it will be sprouting and healthy and full of blooms!

Germanshepherdsmum Sun 12-May-24 16:05:45

Ivy and rambling roses are real thugs. Nice to have but definitely not growing up someone else’s fence. I think the OP said they were growing when she moved in, but they do have to be controlled. Ivy will poke its way through fence panels and totally destroy them.

4allweknow Sun 12-May-24 16:03:17

Free standing trellis, planters, large pots will give plenty opportunity for growing something to hide the gap. Your neighbour does have the right to dictate what you can and can't do with his fence.

sandelf Sun 12-May-24 15:29:12

It's sad to lose the ivy and rambler - but you do have a fence in good repair now. Maybe reduce the sight of it with some evergreen small trees or shrubs (keen gardeners will know).

icanhandthemback Sun 12-May-24 14:57:15

How I’d love a fence! My neighbour has laurel hedging which needs cutting back on our side and on the top. We hate it as we are getting older and it nearly finished us off trying to sort it out. It also takes all the nutrients out of the soil in our garden so our flower beds have had to be put in further away and it spreads its seedlings everywhere.

mabon1 Sun 12-May-24 14:31:21

His fence, but tough you've lost the roses.

cc Sun 12-May-24 14:07:36

A free-standing trellis sounds like a good idea, that way the rose would get more air flowing around it too. Roses seem to be growing like mad this year, probably a good time to put one in?

Barbadosbelle Sun 12-May-24 13:09:33

BEAU1968

As readers have already said, it's his fence and so really you shouldn't have put anything on it.

However, what we did in a similar situation (equal to about three fence panels) was put up lattice fencing to cover an unsightly area of a neighbour's fence.

We attached them about 6" away from the dreaded fence on to thin metal stakes (rammed 6"-8" down in the earth) and with green zip ties. All from B&Q and didn't cost much.

18-months later they were ablaze with the climbing roses, jasmine and honeysuckle I had planted at the base.

Very lovely - and, on occasions, very aromatic too!!

.

Germanshepherdsmum Sun 12-May-24 13:00:43

If someone owns animals which may escape it is up to them, not their neighbours, to ensure that they can’t do so.

SheWho Sun 12-May-24 12:58:35

If there's a gap that a dog could get through, then any livestock you might choose to have in the future, i.e. hens, would come to harm. There should be no gap and his fence should replace the old one and not encroach on your property.

fluttERBY123 Sun 12-May-24 12:34:25

I don't understand about this gap. Has your neighbour made his own garden ten inches narrower?

mernice Sun 12-May-24 11:56:18

Just the very fact he used the word ‘moan’ is a little red flag to me. He wouldn’t have said that to a man most likely. I would keep on mentioning it, and how he had taken the pleasure away from that part of your garden.

Beau1958 Sun 12-May-24 11:51:37

The roses and ivy were there years before I moved in so no I never planted them they were just a beautiful feature in our garden and I’ve had to dig the rose out so no re growth I’m afraid.

Tanjamaltija Sun 12-May-24 11:13:40

The rambling rose and ivy harmed the fence... and since you had not paid for it, I do wonder why you are protesting...

Harris27 Sat 11-May-24 18:09:00

We had the same sort of thing a few years ago and it cost us quite a bit to renew. However I’ve got a nosey neighbour and renewing the fence on our side was the best thing we did!

MayBee70 Sat 11-May-24 17:53:18

This just popped up on Facebook
‘That means if you have a fence in your garden, the connecting neighbour must get your permission before painting or staining their side of the fence.

Plus, the neighbour can also not use that fence to grow trailing plants or any similar "activity which may cause it damage."

Lawsons adds: "As the owner, you must keep the fence in good repair and ensure that it is safe and does not present any danger to those around it."
The local farmer put up a fence round my garden and when he replaced it got angry with me for putting trellis up. It was all a bit confusing because I was responsible for that fence but he needed a fence that would keep his cattle in. At one time I had a fence inside his fence and when we said we wanted to take it down because it looked a mess ( he had put that fence up, too) he made my husband roll up the fence and take it to his house.

MayBee70 Sat 11-May-24 14:13:48

What a nightmare. The only argument I’ve ever had with my next door neighbour in nearly fifty years was because of a fence that we had put up but turned out to legally belong to them.

J52 Sat 11-May-24 14:06:32

If I understand the post, you’ve been left with the old fence and he has put a new fence in front on his side? Or has he only replaced some of it.
If the former, I’d surreptitiously help the old fence to collapse.
If the latter I’d do as others have suggested. Put some lattice in front and have a climbing rose and clematis.
Your rambler will return, is it possible to give it an arch or obelisk to climb over?

Baggs Sat 11-May-24 13:56:28

PS No, you're not in the wrong; you're just a bit pissed off, naturally. Your neighbour isn't technically in the wrong either though he could have been politer about it.

Good luck with your roses.