Hedge/tree problem with neighbour

" Over 11 years I have attempted to cut his side, climbing a ladder, barricading myself in with bins for safety." I'm not sure why you are cutting his side of the trees/hedge - or am I reading that wrong? I have vision of you struggling to cut it in his garden as well as your own!
He obviously isn't going to get it sorted after all this time.

I would get all the side branches of the conifers etc that come across the boundary line into my garden cut back. A local tree surgeon would probably advise. It won't look pretty but that cannot be helped. Fir trees won't grow back (someone did this near us and they stayed one sided) but if you take the tops out they will get wider.
Then once sure there is no regrowth have some high fence panels put on my side of the boundary. That would cover two thirds of the hedge from view.

Think of all the wildlife they have to have somewhere to nest etc why does it bother you so much

Some people and I am one of them love overgrown gardens and if there was wildlife in there I would never want to touch it. But I can see from her side of things that not everyone feels that way. It's his garden he can do with it as he pleases.

We have a similar but dissimilar problem in that the overgrown Leylandii are all ours. When we planted them we were young rookies and though I trimmed them regularly for the first x years they did become thicker, and taller, and unreachable for either of us. DH doesn't "do" gardening, and in fact he likes them thick and tall. I have insisted several times (and paid over £500 a time) to have them cut down but they just keep going. It is similar with brambles, mares tail and ivy which we have all over the place. I do my best but it's now too much and short of a fire I don't know what to do. We are awaiting a price again to just to trim the hedge but it will be over a thousand. I can't keep doing this, but what choice do I have? The chap at the back used to trim his side but he is also getting older and can't do it.

Earthmother9

Some people and I am one of them love overgrown gardens and if there was wildlife in there I would never want to touch it. But I can see from her side of things that not everyone feels that way. It's his garden he can do with it as he pleases.

OK for you. You are not living in a house where next doors overgrown trees are pushing down your fence, brushing the tiles on your roof causing some to slip and let water into the house, and blocking your gutters while the ivy invades the inside of your roof, damaging it further and adding to the blocked gutters. Then the ivy starts to creep over your windows. Not to mention killing off your productive fruit trees and overshadowing your vegetable patch so that nothing grows well in their shade.

It is always the people with the overgrown gardens that wax lyrical about them. I have a friend who suffered all of the above. I saw the worry and distress it caused, the damage it did to her house.

But, hey, what does that matter. Those with overgrown gradens jump on the environmental bandwagon and chunter on about wild life.

They do not give a toss how much their overgrown gardens are making the lives of those living round them a misery, particularly when those neighbours are old and disabled and cannot physically cut back the encroaching greenery themselves, nor afford to pay anyone to do it for them.

I would talk to your local council, I have a neighbour over the back of me who always starts a junk yard shortly after the last council forced clearance. The council keep an eye on him now.

I once viewed a house that had overgrown conifers at the back which hadn't been mentioned by the EA. They were massive!

When I mentioned them the owners just said they were wonderful for wildlife... I said I would have to factor in the cost of having them removed if I put in an offer, which I didn't.

They were not only ruining their on garden but impinging on the neighbours light too... selfish and silly.

Is a bay tree some type of laurel?

I have a similar problem.
My parents planted a hedge because their very strange neighbour spied on them and also has let his house and garden go to rack and ruin .
After managing to talk to him I booked in a tree surgeon to cut the hedge right back and he refused access.
Now he claims that he sold his house last Christmas (despite still living there ) and it's no longer his problem.
His fence is broken .
Weeds grow over and under it .
My parents used to trim the brambles back now I do it and I'm fed up with doing so.
It means climbing up a slight slope and I nearly fall over .
You can't help who you live next to .
I deeply regret not being able to persuade my father to move .

Get a free surgeon in to have a look and give you a quote.

Then politely tell neighbour what it is and will he pay.
If unwilling then maybe offer to go halves or something.

If you are that unwell physically, then it’s madness to keep doing what you are already doing.
Sorry, meant to say Tree surgeon.

I saw a passiflora behind my fence and then I saw a passiflora root metres away in my new build garden. I had just moved in and bought bamboo root barrier, made from felt and impregnated with copper. I had to dig a deep trench for it and leave a couple of inches above soil. Every year I keep up with the copper and put a bit of copper sulphate into a watering can and simply put that solution between the barrier and the wall, no foundation. Similar to what water companies do to stop roots interfering with drains

Try and think outside the box op. Personally having neighbours with established gardens was a must. No trees by me and only bramble at the top now and then. I do have apple trees but all are plenty far enough away from the wall, so as to never annoy the neighbours. I turned two houses down that had trees I would have had no control over

People with so called overgrown gardens for wildlife tend to be lazy and to be using that as a very lame excuse for the state of their jungle. Selfish people

op, do look up copper nails and buy some

We had a problem with very tall conifers neighbours planted years ago along the fence line. In the end we paid to have them topped out. It was very expensive, approaching a thousand pounds. Apparently it costs more to top them out because it takes longer and would have been cheaper to fell them completely, but neighbour wouldnt agree to that. They did allow access, probably because we met the bill, but they wouldnt pay towards the cost. I was told they would look after the tree surgeons and give them cups of tea! It is massively better for us letting the light into our downstairs rooms so I guess it was worth it.

I would like to put in a laurel hedge where it backs on to our neighbors, their house is higher up & they can see into our garden . just wondering if that is the best thing now. Don’t want any arguments with our neighbours. Any ideas on what is fairly slow growing? Thanks

Perhaps it needs a more drastic cut back/down, next time SiL comes if he is willing. The longer you leave it the worse it will get.
I have never heard of councils charging for you to complain about your neighbours - yes if you wish to go to formal dispute, but they will have expected to to have asked, complained to him in writing at least twice before they will even accept a high hedges dispute.

How do your other neighbours feel about it? Perhaps they can weigh in? The bay tree is a general nuisance and should never have been planted in the first place, and may affect your foundations, so threaten to sue him if he does nothing

There are leylandii hedges on either side of our garden - planted by the respective neighbours just inside their boundary lines. But neither side have properly maintained them, and they have grown taller over the years. Our garden slopes quite steeply, and about 10 years ago when DH fell off the ladder again trying to cut them, I insisted that we got professional contractors in. They bring ladders and all the kit they need, and take all of the rubbish away with them. We get them in February. The cost has gradually gone up, but it is still less than £300. Because it’s done regularly, we’ve managed to control the height, and the width on our side at least. I know that one of them looks awful mess from the other side, but I don’t have to look at it!
It does make me cross to have to pay to have hedges cut, when neither of them are ours. But I think the alternative would have been even worse.

Caleo

Monica, The suburban environment really matters .

Yes, but fir trees are not as good as many other species of plant and pollinators may prefer a wider range of flowering plants and shrubs which could be difficult to grow where there is shade from conifers.

Overgrown and messy is not necessarily good - managed gardens with plenty of attractions fot wildlife are better. It takes a lot of work to maintain a "wild garden".

The bay tree will survive even if it has a good prune and the fir trees could be replaced by something better to attract bees, butterflies and insects.

Beware of cutting down any established hedges.
When I returned from my long holiday in Canada, I discovered that my neighbour had removed the beautiful hedge between our houses and installed an ugly breeze-block wall.
I took legal advice. I was advised to sue him. Ofcourse, my Solicitor was excellent. . After months of court dates and hearings, we won and my neighbour was ordered to pay me £5000 compensation and replace the breeze-block with a red brick wall.
That was 20+ years ago.
After that, I couldn’t bear the thought of living next door to him. I also wanted a fresh start after my divorce. I sold up and moved to my present house.
Alls well that ends well….

Mt61

I would like to put in a laurel hedge where it backs on to our neighbors, their house is higher up & they can see into our garden . just wondering if that is the best thing now. Don’t want any arguments with our neighbours. Any ideas on what is fairly slow growing? Thanks

Laurel adversely affects the quality of the soil.

Alternate photinia and choisya look quite good but I don't know what height you want them to grow to eventually?

Earthmother9

Some people and I am one of them love overgrown gardens and if there was wildlife in there I would never want to touch it. But I can see from her side of things that not everyone feels that way. It's his garden he can do with it as he pleases.

I can’t help wondering if you have ever actually lived next to a properly overgrown garden? My daughter lives in a narrow terraced house and has permanent problems with the HMO next door. The landlord is happy to take the rent but does nothing to maintain the garden. Earlier this year, the huge brambles had grown over the 6ft fence and were reaching halfway across my daughter‘s garden. It looked like a railway bank. She couldn’t even cut her own grass. There is absolutely no shortage of wildlife on her side of the fence, where foxes and badges are regular visitors, not to mention loads of birds and insects. She does pretty minimal garden maintenance, but she does mow the grass periodically, and keep shrubs like buddleia under control.
I understand that some people really don’t like gardening, but how hard is it to just go out there with a strimmer and a hedge cutter a couple of times a year, just to keep things under control? Or pay someone else to do it for you? There are plenty of contractors who do this kind of ‘ground clearance’.
You have a legal and moral responsibility to do at least the minimum necessary to ensure that your neighbours can enjoy their own property, and that no damage is being caused.

I can’t help wondering if you have ever actually lived next to a properly overgrown garden?

One problem - Rats.

You could think about something like silver birches - not the native ones but cultivated varieties with very white bark, that don’t grow so tall. They would give a screening effect, especially in the summer, and could under planted with shrubs.
A friend planted three hornbeams, that have been pruned to make a sort of high hedge on stilts (if that makes any sense!) Very attractive in its own right, but a really effective screen too.
Both of these trees grow surprisingly quickly, especially if you can afford to start with slightly larger ones.

Lahlah65

You could think about something like silver birches - not the native ones but cultivated varieties with very white bark, that don’t grow so tall. They would give a screening effect, especially in the summer, and could under planted with shrubs.
A friend planted three hornbeams, that have been pruned to make a sort of high hedge on stilts (if that makes any sense!) Very attractive in its own right, but a really effective screen too.
Both of these trees grow surprisingly quickly, especially if you can afford to start with slightly larger ones.

Sorry, this was meant as a suggestion for Mt61!

I think that it's sometimes completely impossible to negotiate with some people .
My reclusive neighbour's other neighbours had to replace their greenhouse as his brambles grew through it .
Prior to having it replaced they cut down and cleared the offending brambles with his permission.
I offered him some almost new and very expensive garden furniture which had been given to me and some garden plants .
He thanked me and then said that he had no intention of going into his garden .
I've asked another tree surgeon to give me a quote ,but I wonder if I'm going to have the same problem as before - he will be denied access and won't be able to cut the hedge down properly.
The last one went off in a huff -
I'm describing his exit politely he stormed off with a tirade of expletives!

“ People with so called overgrown gardens for wildlife tend to be lazy and to be using that as a very lame excuse for the state of their jungle. Selfish people”

Exactly I agree with Karmalady We are in dispute with our neighbour who backs on to our garden. He has an extremely high Leylandi tree that blocks light to our garden and sheds its debris into ours causing us numerous other problems as well. After many years of trying to negotiate we have enlisted the help of the local Council. They agreed we had a valid case and we had to pay them £450 to do a detailed survey and they have subsequently issued a Remedial order to our neighbour to keep his tree and adjoining hedge to under 4.5 metres for the life of the tree. He has ignored this and the District council have proceeded to take him to court to enforce this order. Case due to be heard in two weeks. Our neighbours garden is an utter mess. I dread to think what is lurking in his garden but the Council have taken on the fight so let’s hope for resolution now 🤞 but I’m not holding my breath!!