should I have to do my neighbours garden

Only the ivy is a problem for my area as we have old victorian stone walls between gardens and the ivy breaks down the mortar and then the stones fall out. I do all my own repointing and it's hard work..and it's incredible the damage ivy does.

Neighbours on one side got rid of their ivy, yay. The other side is a rental with garden and rampant ivy which crawls over the wall to our side. PLUS now bindweed. Eeek.

Sad really as the last owner was a keen gardener before she died and family sold it and her's was always a picture. Makes me sad to see a jungle... no perennials left, shrubs gone into trees, lawn turned into tall weeds. But that's OK as I can't see it from my ground floor and am only concerned about the ivy. I do enjoy the birds who love the wildness of that garden, but then the landlord comes and strims and chops everything completely down (except the bindweed and ivy!!) between tenants. Then it all goes back to jungle again...

Pardon all the extra bits and typos, don't know how that happened! Can you edit after posting?

MaizieD. Thanks for advice. Will ask farmer. And buy a heavy duty strimmer!

Tell her to stop trespassing and damaging your property. Your garden sounds like a wildlife haven and you need to keep it that way. Just make sure nothing goes to her side. What are weeds anyway! Even the dreaded stinging nettle is the preferred plant for tortoiseshell butterflies to lay heir eggs.

I too have problem with a next door neighbour re gardens and despite offering to take place in the neighbour mediation offered by my local council, they were not willing to participate. 3 years ago they removed the 6' fence between our properties. They erected the fence and therefore are legally responsible for its maintenance but the replacement panels have been on their patio for eighteen months now; they refuse to erect them or to allow my adult sons to do so for them. Their garden is a potential danger as they have a large,deep fishpond and an electric railway running around its perimeter. The result of this is that for 3 years my granddaughter has not had the pleasure of playing in our garden...

I recently spoke to the son of the house (in his 30s) offering again to help replace the panels. His response: "You're a slut and a slag and a lousy housewife" - this was shouted at me in front of my house and in earshot of neighbours and passers-by. I might not be the greatest housewife in the world but fail to see why I should be subjected to public abuse by somebody who last entered my home at the age of 3.

If anybody has any suggestions as to how to deal with this situation I would love to hear from them. Having been recently widfowed I have enough stress in my life - am being treated for depression and work hard most days as carer for my GD - and would like to think this could be resolved. Friends have suggested that I move but this was our family home for over 30 years. My sons grew up here and it is full of memories of my late husband. I really don't want to be forced to go...

My old neighbour used to be a friend till we fell out and she took a black bin bag and ripped all the ivy that was growing other our fence into hers wished I had put a holly bush there instead

Should have been over whoops

leemw711. I feel for you, it is horrible not to be on good terms with the neighbours.

Is it possible the son has problems, and that his parents would be friendly if you spoke to them?

You can do what you like on your side of the boundary - if money were no object you could put up your own fence, within your boundary, but assuming that is not the case, plant fast growing shrubs well inside it so that the neighbours have no excuse to cut bits off that go their side. Or you could creat a barrier for your grand daghter putting stuff - anything - along the boundary line and telling her she must not cross it - tubs with or without plants in, pieces of wood, chairs, beach wind breaks, whatever you have. The more unsightly the better, just keep it on your side.

Or you could invite lots of friends and family round, all sit staring into neighbours garden, perfectly friendly, admire it, say how nice it looks, how lucky there is no 6' fence to hide it etc. Repeat as often as possible.

Just show you have stopped caring what they do and that you are still enjoying life regardless.

Guess which is me?

I am so lucky with my neighbours in every house I've lived in - some were keen gardeners others not so. Budldleia is a problem due to it's natural habit, in one house ours grew against a back (we were corner house with neighbour at right angle to ours) & grew over their fence, they never complained & we would always ask if we could go round to trim it in the autummn - no problem.

I live in a Park Home & everyone looks after their gardens, I do my best to ensure nothing grows over my fences where possible & am constantly pulling up ivy & convulvulus to stop them spreading. When I bought this house (after DH died) the garden was very overgrown as an elderly gentleman lived here, he had a beautiful garden until his health prevented him looking after it.

My garden is a work in progress & I hope one day it will look exactly how I want it. I did inherit some lovely roses & hardy fuschias. Still in the process of cutting back some shrubs but that will have to wait until the Autumn.

I do think we are all entitled to have our garden as we want it but should be mindful of our neighbours & hope that they are respectful to me.

It saddens me where there are disputes & hateful behaviour going on. Maybe I've just been lucky or I'm very tolerant

leemw711 Provided it's not too long a fence can you not put a four foot post and wire netting fence up on your side? Then grow climbers up it? Something rampant like mile a minute vine. Reclaim yards sometimes have posts at a reasonable price.

There is no legal requirement to have a fence, only markers to show the boundary. I suggest Leemw711 that you tie washing line to the posts that are there and display a variety of old underwear, towels with holes in them and old dog blankets!

Of course this might make things worse!

Your garden - your choice - we do have a major problem with a revolting plant (don't even know what it's called), which the Council planted in every odd corner of the estate and which we've tried everything to remove - it's woody, so pops up all over the lawn, ex-neighbours used petrol to remove, but even the strongest weed-killer doesn't work and cutting back doesn't get rid of it! So you may hate some problem plants as much as your neighbours do. Tough! Our problem is that we would dearly love to be able to garden, but my whole family have disbility issues and can't get the garden started off (can't afford to pay a gardener to do an initial dig over/clear-up)

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201608/medium-729403-1470471202095-1239124549.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201608/medium-439444-147047123485425981273.jpg

My bee/butterfly friendly garden. My neighbour's garden is the opposite. We share a gardener. She tries to influence him re our garden. Luckily he takes no notice.

Leemw711 Tie rope between the posts as J52 suggests, but thread it through plastic netting first (£1.99 in Poundsaver) to hang like a curtain. Then plant fast-growing climbers to climb up the netting (golden hop £14.99 from Crocus would be quick and bright)

If you use the existing posts the neighbour could legitimately remove anything you put on them, as he is responsible for them. He may even remove them if he is small minded ebough.

I have second home, as I live in Sweden, I cant attend the garden very often, however a neighbour on one side cuts the lawn, its not a big garden, the neighbour on the other side comlains when I come over about weeds from ours coming into hers, I have said she can willingly come into our garden and take up the weeds or put weed killer down, which she does. She also complains about bramble bushes coming through, and yes, they are a nuisance but originate from the railway which is also at the bottom of the garden, I regularly strip the brambles back each time i visit, but they do tend to take over, the only positive thing is they do give some lovely blackberries at this time of year, any suggestions how I can completely get rid of these blackberry bushes, there is a wire fence between the railway line and our houses, and it is not possible to climb over where they originate from, any good ideas out there, I will willingly accept. Thank you.

The law is that your neighbour should not clip anything that is in your garden only that which encroaches into hers. She has to ask if you would like the clippings/branches returned to you. If you don't want the clippings tell her she has permission to dispose of them. If any clippings are thrown into your garden then she is fly tipping. HTH

Pretty planting flowerofthewest

leemw711 as long as it is within your boundaries you can put a fence up. As you have sons who can do this that is the route I would take. Speak to the mediation people to let them know this will have to be your solution. I wanted to put up some trellis but neighbour's fence is a bit wobbly and would not have been strong enough for trellis. I knew they could not afford new fencing so I just had new posts put in on my side and attached the trellis to my posts. Neighbours enjoy my roses and honeysuckle now and are happy with that arrangement.

Panthea again!
This will probs be my last post as I have asked GNHQ to close my account which I guess they will do tomorrow when work starts again. I was curious to take a look here at some of the threads just to make sure that my opinion of GN was correct. Some of the threads have bullying and snide remarks. The others...well this gardening one for example seems to be alot of nit picking about what neighbours should or should not do, or people wanting reassurance about what they should do with their own Gardens.Why can you people not just make your own minds up instead of getting the opinion of other random women on this site? I can fully see why one would seek the advice of an expert, but this seems just nonsensical to me.

Panthea. I don't think you will be missed.

Hi Pension pat. Thanks for just proving my point re GN

Thanks for popping in Panthea and making such a sweeping statement about GN and its inhabitants. Luckily, you're not an expert so I won't take any notice of your comments .

Pensionpat that really made me chuckle !! Timing is everything or so they say