planting fir trees in the back garden as a screen

[apta1@dsl.pipex.com]

Thoughts / help.
I'd like to plant some evergreen trees at the bottom of my garden as
there are some 3 storey flats beyond that I'd like to screen off, just
to get a bit more privacy as I can see into them from the house. I
don't want to get all un-neighbourly, but would like to grow them to a
height of about 15 ft and manage them, not let them go out of control.
Can anyone point me in the direction of getting a better understanding
of what's involved, background reading etc, i.e. how big can you buy
young trees to plant, are there specialist gardening centres that
would do this for me (may require some drilling out of concrete) any
legal issues I need ot be aware of in case the neighbours get
unfriendly? There wont be a huge shadow thrown over their house or
anything as it would be just at the back of their garden.
Thanks

[Alex Butcher]

On Tue, 01 Jul 2003 16:19:49 -0700, apta wrote:

> any
> legal issues I need ot be aware of in case the neighbours get
> unfriendly?

Not yet; a bill was blocked just a couple of weeks ago. See
<http://freespace.virgin.net/clare.h/> for more details.

> There wont be a huge shadow thrown over their house or
> anything as it would be just at the back of their garden.

It seems that all these "privacy hedges" start off this way, but lack of
maintenance or new neighbours seem to end up putting a spanner in the
works sooner or later.

If you're serious about being fair to your neighbours, it's probably best
to talk it over with them /before/ you start planting, and perhaps think
about making some kind of legal agreement with them that's tied to the
property, rather than to you, the present owner.

> Thanks

Best Regards,
Alex.
--
Alex Butcher Brainbench MVP for Internet Security: www.brainbench.com
Bristol, UK Need reliable and secure network systems?
PGP/GnuPG ID:0x271fd950 <http://www.assursys.com/>

[bnd777]

Why dont you consider Pyracantha or Laurel instead much much easier to
control


> wrote in message
...
> Thoughts / help.
> I'd like to plant some evergreen trees at the bottom of my garden as
> there are some 3 storey flats beyond that I'd like to screen off, just
> to get a bit more privacy as I can see into them from the house. I
> don't want to get all un-neighbourly, but would like to grow them to a
> height of about 15 ft and manage them, not let them go out of control.
> Can anyone point me in the direction of getting a better understanding
> of what's involved, background reading etc, i.e. how big can you buy
> young trees to plant, are there specialist gardening centres that
> would do this for me (may require some drilling out of concrete) any
> legal issues I need ot be aware of in case the neighbours get
> unfriendly? There wont be a huge shadow thrown over their house or
> anything as it would be just at the back of their garden.
> Thanks

[Bill Spohn]

>> any
>> legal issues I need ot be aware of in case the neighbours get
>> unfriendly?
>

At Common Law, anything hanging into their space (across the boundary) is fair
game and they can lop it off even if it should later kill your tree/bush.

For those wanting to do the pruning, first for heaven's sake talk to your
neighbour and tell them what you want to do - most neighbour disputes arise
from lack of communication.

If they don't agree, give written notice to the neighbour and ask them if they
want to be there while you do it. And have a witness there!

As a lawyer that dealt with a half dozen of these cases within a couple of year
period (it seems to have calmed down now), let me add a bit of advice -
neighbour disputes are, next to divorce and estate proceedings, the most
bitterly fought battles even when it makes the least fiscal sense to be
fighting.

Have a witness and preferably take pictures or better yet video of you
trimming. I had one guy that whacked the neighbours tree quite legally, but
failed to take this little precaution, and wound up spending money going to
court over it. Just think about what happens when you cut a fairly decent
sized bough right at the property line. Yup - it springs back, and then your
outraged neighbour can take pictures to court showing the result - the cut
branch that sprung back a couple of feet into his yard - and allege that you
trespassed and cut too much. You may (and should) win, but it is going to cost
you!

[V_coerulea]

Everything you ask really depends on where you live. More info?

> wrote in message
...
> Thoughts / help.
> I'd like to plant some evergreen trees at the bottom of my garden as
> there are some 3 storey flats beyond that I'd like to screen off, just
> to get a bit more privacy as I can see into them from the house. I
> don't want to get all un-neighbourly, but would like to grow them to a
> height of about 15 ft and manage them, not let them go out of control.
> Can anyone point me in the direction of getting a better understanding
> of what's involved, background reading etc, i.e. how big can you buy
> young trees to plant, are there specialist gardening centres that
> would do this for me (may require some drilling out of concrete) any
> legal issues I need ot be aware of in case the neighbours get
> unfriendly? There wont be a huge shadow thrown over their house or
> anything as it would be just at the back of their garden.
> Thanks

[mick]

> > wrote in message
> ...
> > Thoughts / help.
> > I'd like to plant some evergreen trees at the bottom of my garden as
> > there are some 3 storey flats beyond that I'd like to screen off, just
> > to get a bit more privacy as I can see into them from the house. I
> > don't want to get all un-neighbourly, but would like to grow them to a
> > height of about 15 ft and manage them, not let them go out of control.
> > Can anyone point me in the direction of getting a better understanding
> > of what's involved, background reading etc, i.e. how big can you buy
> > young trees to plant, are there specialist gardening centres that
> > would do this for me (may require some drilling out of concrete) any
> > legal issues I need ot be aware of in case the neighbours get
> > unfriendly? There wont be a huge shadow thrown over their house or
> > anything as it would be just at the back of their garden.

Glad you are not my neighbour!

I'll be honest and say what more the polite folk round her wont say.

Fifteen feet? I think thats a bit excessive if you have neighbours of any
kind.
And how do you think you are going to "manage" them at fifteen feet?
Do you know whats involved in getting to the top of them to do that
"management"?

And it wont be possible to keep them there. growth of many such trees
cannot be completely capped, they will creep up , even five or six feet
ends up at ten or twelve over a period of years. Just my experience - I have
a whole avenue of these things running down the side of my drive ( no
neighbours by the way) and I would love to dig them out, but it will take a
major excavation and a couple of tractors to drag the b****** away - and
they are only 12 years old. .

Then the is the question of " not overshadowing the house" - whose house ,
theirs or yours?
Are you sure?

Have you looked at it from your neighbours garden?
How would you feel if the roles were reversed and they were in your house
and you were in theirs?

What about casting a shadow over their garden? Not to mention the fact that
you will leach all the goodness out of the soil and nothing will grow
beneath them. At fifteen feet, thats a lot of ground root and a lot of
distance which will be unusable ground.... and trees do not discriminate and
will not recognise that they are over the boundary line between you and your
neighbour.

Put up a fence.

[Franz Heymann]

> wrote in message
...
> Thoughts / help.
> I'd like to plant some evergreen trees at the bottom of my garden as
> there are some 3 storey flats beyond that I'd like to screen off, just
> to get a bit more privacy as I can see into them from the house. I
> don't want to get all un-neighbourly, but would like to grow them to a
> height of about 15 ft and manage them, not let them go out of control.
> Can anyone point me in the direction of getting a better understanding
> of what's involved, background reading etc, i.e. how big can you buy
> young trees to plant, are there specialist gardening centres that
> would do this for me (may require some drilling out of concrete) any
> legal issues I need ot be aware of in case the neighbours get
> unfriendly? There wont be a huge shadow thrown over their house or
> anything as it would be just at the back of their garden.
> Thanks

Not to mince words, I think you have had it. You will just have to live
with the situation or move.
If you plant a row of Leylandii, you will regret it in ten years' time,
however much you try to maintain them as a tall hedge.
I was blessed with two such hedges and they eventually had to be cut off at
2 inches above ground level. It cost me a lot of money.

Franz Heymann

Franz Heymann

[Kay Easton]

In article >, mick
> writes
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > Thoughts / help.
>> > I'd like to plant some evergreen trees at the bottom of my garden as
>> > there are some 3 storey flats beyond that I'd like to screen off, just
>> > to get a bit more privacy as I can see into them from the house. I
>> > don't want to get all un-neighbourly, but would like to grow them to a
>> > height of about 15 ft and manage them, not let them go out of control.
>> > Can anyone point me in the direction of getting a better understanding
>> > of what's involved, background reading etc, i.e. how big can you buy
>> > young trees to plant, are there specialist gardening centres that
>> > would do this for me (may require some drilling out of concrete) any
>> > legal issues I need ot be aware of in case the neighbours get
>> > unfriendly? There wont be a huge shadow thrown over their house or
>> > anything as it would be just at the back of their garden.
>
>Glad you are not my neighbour!
>
>I'll be honest and say what more the polite folk round her wont say.
>
>Fifteen feet? I think thats a bit excessive if you have neighbours of any
>kind.

He's already explained the situation. Screening off 3-storey flats, no
shadow cast over the building. Just because some hedges cause problems
doesn't mean to say all hedges in all situations do!

A 15ft fence isn't going to be much better.

And whatever you may feel about a 15ft hedge, a three storey block of
flats complete with people overlooking your house and garden is a lot
worse!
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

[mick]

"Kay Easton" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, mick
> > writes
> >> > wrote in message
> >> ...
>
>
> He's already explained the situation. Screening off 3-storey flats, no
> shadow cast over the building. Just because some hedges cause problems
> doesn't mean to say all hedges in all situations do!

Only a three storey block? Most old Victorian houses would be that high.
Fifteen feet is still a lot - and a lot of mainainance as I explained in the
large chunk you selectively snipped.

> A 15ft fence isn't going to be much better.
Nothing will screen the top floors of this block effectively unless it is
near to his own house , in which case it may only need to be four feet high
for the same effect.
A fence will certainly pose less of a maintainance problem.
>
> And whatever you may feel about a 15ft hedge, a three storey block of
> flats complete with people overlooking your house and garden is a lot
> worse!

If you dont like being overlooked then dont live in a town is the simple
answer .
Being overlooked is part of urban life - Ive been there.

Sorry, just giving you a reality check on that one.

[apta1@dsl.pipex.com]

I'm not trying to block out every cm of concrete view. If I could
block up the 2nd level of the flats and leave the 3rd I'd be happy.
Sticking a trellis up for plants to grow is the same as having the
evergreens. I'm just trying to improve the feel of my backgarden a
bit. I don't mind the maintenance, I'd get a gardener to come twice a
year or so to keep it in order. Does anyone know how big I vcould buy
some young fir trees, growing them from 2 feet tall would take some
time. How much concrete would I have to dig up / how big would the
root bakll be? I dont mind loosing a bit of space if I gain a bit of
privacy.
Thanks

On Wed, 2 Jul 2003 12:15:39 +0100, "mick" >
wrote:

>
>"Kay Easton" > wrote in message
...
>> In article >, mick
>> > writes
>> >> > wrote in message
>> >> ...
>>
>>
>> He's already explained the situation. Screening off 3-storey flats, no
>> shadow cast over the building. Just because some hedges cause problems
>> doesn't mean to say all hedges in all situations do!
>
>Only a three storey block? Most old Victorian houses would be that high.
>Fifteen feet is still a lot - and a lot of mainainance as I explained in the
>large chunk you selectively snipped.
>
>> A 15ft fence isn't going to be much better.
> Nothing will screen the top floors of this block effectively unless it is
>near to his own house , in which case it may only need to be four feet high
>for the same effect.
>A fence will certainly pose less of a maintainance problem.
>>
>> And whatever you may feel about a 15ft hedge, a three storey block of
>> flats complete with people overlooking your house and garden is a lot
>> worse!
>
>If you dont like being overlooked then dont live in a town is the simple
>answer .
>Being overlooked is part of urban life - Ive been there.
>
>Sorry, just giving you a reality check on that one.
>

[Kay Easton]

In article >, mick
> writes
>
>"Kay Easton" > wrote in message
...
>> In article >, mick
>> > writes
>> >> > wrote in message
>> >> ...
>>
>>
>> He's already explained the situation. Screening off 3-storey flats, no
>> shadow cast over the building. Just because some hedges cause problems
>> doesn't mean to say all hedges in all situations do!
>
>Only a three storey block? Most old Victorian houses would be that high.
>Fifteen feet is still a lot - and a lot of mainainance as I explained in the
>large chunk you selectively snipped.

"selectively snipped"
What is sensible snipping apart from 'selective'? Would you prefer me to
do indiscriminate snipping?
>

>>
>> And whatever you may feel about a 15ft hedge, a three storey block of
>> flats complete with people overlooking your house and garden is a lot
>> worse!
>
>If you dont like being overlooked then dont live in a town is the simple
>answer .

Not a practical answer for those of us who need to earn a living!

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

[Sylvia Ellis]

Our garden is overlooked by a road which many tourists use. We also are
going for plant screening. I agree with the other comments - fir trees
are more trouble than they are worth. There are plenty of shrubs that
will grow to 15 feet. You will need a shrub that will quickly grow to
that height - trellis and climbers is indeed a good option.

Unfortunately my newsreader removes newsgroups that aren't held on our
internal server, so will remove the gardening newsgroups from this item.
I recommend that people follow up to a different item, to retain the
gardening newsgroups.
--
Sylvia Ellis

[Victoria Clare]

wrote in :

> I'm not trying to block out every cm of concrete view. If I could
> block up the 2nd level of the flats and leave the 3rd I'd be happy.
> Sticking a trellis up for plants to grow is the same as having the
> evergreens.

It isn't, really.

A trellis/fence combination will give you quicker coverage than any tree,
and will never get taller. Any conifer you plant is likely to try to grow
considerably taller than you want it.

So, if you choose trellis and fencing, as many people have sensibly
advised, you will get faster results, and be less likely to upset the
neighbours, and have to spend less on getting it cut. You can grow fast
climbers like clematis over it, and have good coverage and fantastic
flowers by this time next year.

If you choose an evergreen shrub like escallonia, as others have also
sensibly advised, it will grow pretty quickly, but will never try to become
a forest giant, and will also give you attractive flowers. You could grow
a rambling rose through it for more interest. I have a hedge of
escallonia, roses and berberis that is about that tall, and in flower
almost all year round.

If you plant a blank green wall of conifers, you will tend to focus
interest on what you are trying to screen out. People in the flats will
look over it to see what you are hiding, and the third floor that you can't
hide will seem to hover over the hedge.

Make the hedge/fence interesting, and both you and the people in the flats
will focus on it, rather than on what they can see over it.

Victoria