Lawns overshadowed by neighbouring trees

Iam64 - I was under the impression that Leylandii over about 6 feet were deemed a nuisance and should be cut back, by law? I could be wrong but I know that planting them at all is considered massively anti-social!

Op, have you considered making that shady part into a shingle garden?

I have done this very successfully, used cheap liner, gravel on top and made a feature garden in a shady part.

Very chuffed to find that many bulbs and plants thrive there in the shade (when I had no success growing elsewhere) - so now have loads of snowdrops and bluebells, spring bulbs, followed by summer anemonies etc. added random things like big rocks, pots and birdtables.

I don't worry about the leaves, just let the winter winds blow them onto another lawned bit, then run the mower over them without the collecting box, as a grass mulch (lazy but effective)

There are a lot of plants that would do well there, Cyclamen, Hellebores, Rhododendrons if your soil is on the acidic side, Aucuba - spotted laurel, Astilbe and Japanese Anemones will grow in shade, Viburnum and Camellias, woodland anemones, bluebells, Heuchera and Tiarella, Oakleaf Hydrangeas etc .... if you cannot manage to pave to make things easier (don't gravel it as that would be a nightmare to clear the debris off!) If you were to underplant, the debris will provide a mulch to keep the area moist. Good luck!

As the owner of a garden with 2 gigantic conifers now twice the height of the house and another medium sized one plus laburnham tree, may I point out that I inherited these trees when I bought the house some 27 years ago, and have cooperated with my neighbours as much as I could in trying to cut back overhanging branches and/or being cooperative about them lopping of offending branches too. I've also paid for some limited work on then too. As a divorced mother of 2 children when I moved in I did not have much money and there was no way I could have afforded to have them cut down - even less so now - I imagine it would cost £1000s, especially as all the wood would have to be taken through my garage to reach the road - and I'm talking TONS. And I live in a semi, so I have no idea how the trees cold be cut down without damaging both my and other people's gardens except at humungus cost.

Fortunately no one has complained and I do actually love the trees in many ways - the birdlife in them and the pattern of shadows on the lawn on a sunny day.
What I'm trying to say is that I am not selfish or vindictive or deliberately a bad neighbour. Please don't make assumptions without knowing the whole story.

It's such a shame that neighbours can't be more neighbourly when it comes to trees or other garden features. My better half is a tree surgeon and frequently has to avoid becoming involved in neighbour disputes. He tries to tell all parties that any work he does has to consider the health of the tree(s) (unless they are for removal of course). There are unscrupulous people that ignore TPOs and risk big fines + others who will hack trees until they look awful or are killed by the process - he refuses to do this! If you can't get the neighbours to cooperate, a good local tree surgeon may be able to advise you on local council rules/laws or on anything you can do, or can plant, and most know others in similar lines of work so may have contact details for landscape gardeners etc that could help if you want to make changes.

Our new house has a few existing trees and the next door neighbour has already approached us to see if there is any chance of trimming one tree a couple of foot as it overshadows a vegetable patch - we love the tree as it is but he thinks he may be able to trim a little without it looking too bad or damaging it - we also want to be good neighbours and be able to get along, make the odd compromise etc - if it can be done and remain a good looking and healthy tree we will try to have happier neighbours (who knows, we may end up sharing things we each grow in the future). Good luck

Our neighbour has a huge Lleylandii which overshadows our vegetable garden for part of the day.
We and other neighbours would happily contribute to the cost of a tree surgeon to rid us of the pest but the owners won't hear of it.

Bluesmum you are right, there are laws in place now about heights of Leylandi, it’s worth following up for anyone bothered by neighbours trees/hedge.
We have two birch trees nearby, one overhanging part of our garden, beautiful full height trees, I love them and accept that their leaves/twigs/pollen come with them ( birch pollen affects me as well!) They were there when we bought this house, and although the side effects are a nuisance, they are a joy to look at in all seasons.

Sugarpufffairy, it's really difficult to prove that trees are causing movement. Usually, as long as their roots aren't invading drains) they are not to blame. Removing them can cause ground 'heave' (rather than subsidence), though, and not everyone is insured against that.

We have a problem with a Neighbours Willow Tree which shades a good part of the garden and when it sheds it branches and leaves it's a horrendous mess which has killed off the grass and I have given up on growing plants in the area. I have tried cutting it back but it is far too high to reach the branches to cut (Over 30 ft tall or more) It puts shade on my washing so it does not dry as no sun gets to it.

Our next door neighbour and his next-door neighbour allhave over 100ft High Llanddi trees at the, back of their gardens which block all sunlight in our very small garden. The neighbour two doors Down is a single parent who's sympathetic housing association tenant but cannot afford to get them cut down. Bless her she tried to get the housing association to cut them but they refused. This was about 8 years ago, sadly we still haven't found a solution to this nightmare for us. Our neighbours are lucky as they have gardens twice the size and I wonder if they had a small shaded garden like us how they would feel.. Our next door neighbour is a nasty man so I recon he'd be the first to moan if in our situation! Wish we could find a way around this as I'm disabled and really need the warmth of the sun on my face! If anyone has any ideas it would be gratefully received! Xx

I have problems with my neighbours trees.
What sort of trees are they?
Are they overhanging your property?
The lawn issue is easy, you buy special grass designed for "shady places", that's what it's called!
How close to the house are the trees?

I have a feeling that boundary hedges should not be higher than 6'

I had this problem years ago, our next door neighbour had leylandi all along the boundary (both sides and back) about 20 feet tall. Planning permission should be needed to plant these trees, unless you live on a secluded plot of land, but then you wouldn’t need them!

I thought evergreens were not allowed to be above a certain height nowadays?

Think on Annofarabia- if only this were true

We have long term tenants next door. They planted two willow trees years ago. These willows are now over 40 foot high and shed leaf litter every autumn. The boughs overlap our shed and both trees are starting to shed limbs as they have never been maintained. The tenants refuse to allow access to the Landlords agents who have even offered to pay to maintain or reduce the trees. They also have a leylandii hedge between us which is now over 8 foot high and running with brambles. We try to keep our side under control but it's not our hedge. Some people are just selfish beyond belief.

The tree which causes us problems is just inside the neighbour's garden.

Also have a neighbour with annoying leylandi. Had everything that overhangs my garden cut off.

Sandra can’t you cut the roots from your side as I believe they are shallow rooted. I think it unfair that these selfish people make people so unhappy.

It doesn't quite overhang our garden but all the bits drop off it into ours.

My next-door neighbours grew a Leylandii hedge ‘for privacy.’ I can still see into their garden from my rear bedroom, if I want to, and they rarely sit out there anyway. They do keep it trimmed to about 10 feet high, but it keeps the morning sun off my garden. He comes around to my side, with my permission, and trims it, but every time the wind blows more bits drop down. I get tired of clearing them up. The roots impoverish the soil on my side, too, but they are nice friendly people so I let it go.
My diagonally rear neighbours have a beautiful copper beech which is far too big for its position. It overhangs four gardens, including mine, and smothers them with leaves and beech- mast every autumn. It is far too tall for me to trim the overhanging branches. They had the cheek to ask their rear neighbour to get her conifer lopped, and she was silly enough to spend several hundred pounds having it done. It was far smaller and narrower than their tree.
I can live with my minor tree problems, but some of you have major problems. I seem to remember that, when buying house insurance, I am asked if there are any tall trees within a certain distance of my house. You may find that you are either paying extra, or not covered if the trees cause damage. It may be a good idea to check your insurance cover.

Hetty58 Thank for that information. The council here have legislation about the height of trees but they expect me to inform the neighbours. They charge £500 if they are expected to provide any help with getting the trees sorted out. That is 6 months after I send a recorded delivery letter telling the neighbours to get the trees cut. The council are not people I would have faith in so it may be quicker to go legal from the start. I think the council should enforce there own legislation. I will check if my insurance covers "heave". I was worried about even more movement when the trees are cut down and the roots removed or they rot away.
There was times when the back garden was covered in sewage several time and the drain had to be cleared. There was a blockage 10 Metres in the direction of the trees but that has not happened for a while. The garden here has changed since the trees got higher than the houses. The ground is constantly damp, the grass is full of moss and toadstools and the flowers have died. It is heart breaking as this has been our home for generations.

Iam, your neighbours brass neck knows no bounds. They plant them and expect to just let them do their worst but don't mind if you pay to keep them manageable. I think that shows how they are in everything they do. I think there should be a law that makes whom so ever plants hedges responsible, 6/7 feet is more than enough for privacy and a law against these huge trees that should not be in planted in the first place in small gardens, like Willows, Sycamore, Chestnuts etc.bthey know from the onset how big they will Gris, if they were made to take them out and pay the costs they would not do it.

I have two big conifers near the bottom of my garden. We didn’t plant them they were there when we moved in. They do cast shade over a small part of next door’s garden but only later in the day. And our gardens are big enough so this should not be an issue and no branches overhang.

I have a plethora of birds nesting in these conifers. The bigger birds such as the wood pigeons keep the magpies away from the blackbirds, sparrows and other smaller nests. These are very much a part of our Give Nature a Home philosophy.

I would resent any interference from the neighbours re this.

Furret you say you'd resent 'interference' from your neighbours about the two big conifers which cast shade 'over a small art of next door's garden but only later in the day'. I wonder if your neighbour agrees with that assessment.
Surely, as neighbours our first response shouldn't be resentment ?

The other thing about leylandi is the way they leach the goodness and moisture from the soil in their vicinity. Dreadful things (I know, Im on rant repeat)
We had to raise the bed at the end of our garden in an attempt to allow more light as well as to add tons of top soil so the new plants we put in (to replace those strangled by the leylandi next door) had a chance of survival.
I've photographs of that corner of the garden before the triffids arrived and two years later - I'll stop here and breathe!