Trees

I can see the woods from our back garden, I love the noise of wind in the trees.
We have dwarf crab apple and cherry, neither should grow higher than 5-8 feet, but will provide cover, food and habitat for bugs and birds.

I have a large garden on a downward slope. I have an oak which is neat the neighbour's boundary. However this tall tree with its wide canopy is also at the bottom of their garden and on the northern edge of their large garden, so it will shade my garden and not theirs.

I keep hoping that people in general will learn values other than tidiness.

M0nica

J52

aggie

Trees are essential, they lock in harmful stuff
If you cut it down you release harmful stuff, compounding the harm by burning the wood

I like trees, but if they fall on people they’re harmful as well!

but how often do they fall on people compared with caar accidents that hit people or people who trip over their own feet (like me)?

Well you’re quite right of course, but not much help to those who are under the tree.
We had 6 pendulous Silver Birches bordering our last garden with a listed Oak at one end and Ash at the other. All bordering a lane.
Our insurers required a two yearly inspection by a tree surgeon to cover danger from them falling on anyone or car in the lane.
They might have been the 1-10 million quoted above.

Large trees should not be planted in urban gardens- they don't belong in that sort of environment.

I love trees but they should be grown in protected woodland otherwise it can become very difficult to manage them.

We love trees but the silver birch in our neighbour’s garden has grown tremendously tall. It is just over 40 years old. As it was planted by the developer and we bought new. The problem is DH is allergic to the pollen and it is the drooping sort so you can imagine the amount of pollen released. Poor DH really suffers.

I love that we have a variety of trees in our garden and lucky to back onto a common. At the end of the garden I can see all the neighbouring houses and they all have trees. It’s lovely listening to the birds as they sweep across the spaces. The magpies are irritating especially when the cats are out. Picture for reference of our fire pit last weekend.

AH I tried BBC iPlayer SORES on your recommendation but sadly although the programme (BBC4) came up (December 4th 2025) it stated “This programme is currently not available on iPlayer”. Shame, I bet it was really interesting!

I'm a believer in 'the right plant for the right spot' method of gardening. We live in a coastal rain forest, with the town surrounded for 100's of kilometers of forest. Within the town border there is a mixture of native and non-native trees. We have a few lilac (considered shrubs I think) and neighbours have Japanese maples that are pruned every few years.

There are some trees that can interfere with drainage pipes, some that drop pollen or seed pods, and some that can be very invasive. All these should be avoided. It would be nice if city councils would keep a list of unacceptable trees, or trees with limitations, so people would have a legitimate complaint if a neighbour planted one. And also, agreeing with others, there should be regulations on distance to property line for some.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

AH I tried BBC iPlayer SORES on your recommendation but sadly although the programme (BBC4) came up (December 4th 2025) it stated “This programme is currently not available on iPlayer”. Shame, I bet it was really interesting!

fear not, as it is on youtube in full, 58 mins,
Judi Dench- My Passion for Trees

Excellent news! Thank you SORES very kind of you to let me know. I shall watch it this weekend. 😊

We have some silver birch trees in our garden that we planted 20years ago, I love seeing the trunks in winter. They have posed no problem with our old neighbours but….
We have new neighbours and they have just put in planning permission for an extension that comes almost up to their hedge. Still about 18feet from the first tree but it makes me a little concerned. I presume they have considered that and we won’t have complaints.

PamelaJ1

We have some silver birch trees in our garden that we planted 20years ago, I love seeing the trunks in winter. They have posed no problem with our old neighbours but….
We have new neighbours and they have just put in planning permission for an extension that comes almost up to their hedge. Still about 18feet from the first tree but it makes me a little concerned. I presume they have considered that and we won’t have complaints.

If the silver birches have their entire canopies within your garden boundaries why would there be a problem? I do hope you considered that any neighbour might not have wanted to 'share' your choice of tree by having to accommodate any of the canopy over their garden.

Gosh Rosie that’s telling me isn’t it?
Of course we did .

Sorry PamelaJI I didn't really mean to chastise, Im afraid I have a problem with a neighbours tree that overshadows and spoils my tiny garden. Makes me terse at times. Apologies

I agree with you Rosie51. I love trees and we have part of a wood crossing the bottom of our garden which is beautiful but, would neighbours please keep trees and their branches to their property only.

Mt62 we have Beech hedging and it only needs to be cut once a year.

I live on the edge of a woodland park hence surrounded by woodland. Various oaks, pine, birch, sycamore all over. What gets to me is the volume of leaves and pine needles I have to keep clearing away.
Front garden were planted with rowan and cherry but quite widespread about every 4th/5th house.

Rosie51 Whilst in a conservation area does the offending cherry tree
have a conservation order on it. Worth checking as trees have different protection to that of property/locations.

karmalady

People in general do not consider their neighbours when planting trees. Often too close to a boundary fence or within spitting distance of foundations. I turned down two houses I went to look at due to leylandii growing next to boundary fences, one row had just been planted and I could just see the feathery tops when I stood on tip toe by the fence. I would have had that lovely bungalow but those they leylandii were just over 1m from the bungalow wall, I was first viewer and it was thanks but no thanks

Once upon a time I lived in historical gardens and had lovely views of the trees, especially a majestic leylandii which had been allowed to grow to its full potential, at least 60 foot high and in the distance from the properties. A massive tree and beloved by birds

I have planted 4 trees, the three apple trees are on M26 rootstocks and even if they were never pruned, will only from to around 2.8m. All my trees are at least 10 feet from boundary fences. My jelly king was grafted onto rootstock M106 and will never get taller than 4m. None of them overhand the fences

Trees are beautiful as long as they are not a nuisance

You covered all the bases with this post karmalady.

Love your name.

I spent 11 dismal months living in Machrihanish on the west coast of Scotland. I looked out onto Ireland to the southwest and Isla and Dura to the northwest, and nothing due west except Canada, which was hidden by the curve of the earth!
The upshot was the wind whistled through the gap and there were no trees. Not a single one. visible from my house and none for miles.
It was astonishing how much I missed them. It truly was deeply depressing.
So, be careful what you wish for!

karmalady* I lived in historical gardens and had lovely views of the trees, especially a majestic leylandii which had been allowed to grow to its full potential, at least 60 foot high and in the distance from the properties.

A massive tree and beloved by birds

We have massive leylandii. Especially lovely at Christmas.

We like trees and have an espaliered plum tree in our garden and well trimmed to 6 feet leylandii across the bottom, but they do need looking after.
It’s the care of trees that causes the problem, as evidenced by this report. No consolation that they’re fewer in number than car accidents, if you're the victim.
Several recent fatal incidents involving falling tree branches have occurred, notably including the death of 49-year-old Jen Higgins in Manchester (August 2025) and 32-year-old Madia Kauser in Blackburn (August 2025). These incidents highlight risks from decayed trees or high winds, with investigations often focusing on duty of care and maintenance.
Then there’s the photo DGS sent me this morning, which blocked his cycling group trip.

Nothing puts me back together more than a walk in woods with no noise except birds and trees.

Our world would collapse without trees.

Whitewavemark2

Nothing puts me back together more than a walk in woods with no noise except birds and trees.

Our world would collapse without trees.

In absolute agreement.

4allweknow

I live on the edge of a woodland park hence surrounded by woodland. Various oaks, pine, birch, sycamore all over. What gets to me is the volume of leaves and pine needles I have to keep clearing away.
Front garden were planted with rowan and cherry but quite widespread about every 4th/5th house.

Rosie51 Whilst in a conservation area does the offending cherry tree
have a conservation order on it. Worth checking as trees have different protection to that of property/locations.

Thanks for the advice but unfortunately it's a blanket conservation order on properties and trees and we're forbidden to prune any branch over 3 inches in diameter. Some years ago neighbours only got permission to fell a conifer growing right outside their window because it caused huge cracks in the party wall. It took their insurers threatening the council before they finally agreed.
This cherry is beginning to die back in places and the trunk is splitting so my other fear is if it falls in a high wind. As it is it drops bits of branches, luckily nothing big enough (so far) to injure a person, but enough to crush planting.

So many trees, no excuse not to find one suitable for location. I have 45 yrs old cherry tree but with 'footprint' of few square feet as that is the variety, tall and thin. Any good book on trees will tell you their maximum height even lifespan. An oak tree might last 800 yrs but a cherry tree maybe 40 yrs.