On 21/7/07 20:41, in article , "Klara"
wrote:

In message , Sacha
writes
On 21/7/07 16:22, in article , "Klara"
wrote:

In message , Nick Maclaren
writes

In article ,
Sacha writes:
| On 21/7/07 14:10, in article ,
"Klara"
| wrote:
|
| On the side that is the neighbour's (thankfully to the East), he once
| didn't top it for 10-12 years. It had shot up to well over our (high)
| bedroom windows, to maybe near 25-30 feet.... It has now not been cut
| again for 5 or so years, but we're on good terms with them and don't
| like to say anything....
|
| Not even, "could WE take a bit off the top of your hedge so that we can
look
| out of the bedroom"?

Or even, if it is your hedge, "Do you mind if we come round and trim
your side of our hedge?"

We did that when our next door neighbours were an elderly couple.
They were actually very happy for me to include much of their
Himalayan Giant in that ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Unfortunately he is not only younger than we are, but he also has two
men working for him, in part in his garden, so any such suggestion from
the elderly neighbours might come across as a bit ... umm ...
embarrassing?


Reasonable, I'd say. If I had two men working in my garden and they didn't
keep the hedge cut to accommodate my nice neighbours, I'd be glad to have it
pointed out to me. ;-) In all seriousness, if he's young and busy and has
just asked them to keep the garden tidy, he's probably not even aware of the
problem and they're not bothering to get out ladders and do what they should
be doing, if he doesn't notice!

I think you're right: chances are, he hasn't noticed (the hedge isn't as
near to him as it is to us). At this point our side needs a trim too -
we'll get that done and then we'll tackle him about the height. It is
surprising in any case: he has shrubberies and flowerbeds on his side,
and they are much shadier than they need to be....

thanks for the Dutch courage...


Just reading what you say, it does seem to be a simple case of 'young, busy
and unaware' - definitely not 'unkind or nasty'. Two people looking after a
garden and paid for it really should be aware of hedges, so a quiet word
should alert him to the fact that he is NOT getting value for money in that
area, at least. In the end, he could very well be grateful to you for
showing him - obliquely - what he's paying for and what he's actually
getting.
Had you thought of having a little party in your garden for those neighbours
and e.g. 4 neighbouring houses, which would allow him to see what it's like
if he's standing right under your mutual boundary?
Could you let urg know the outcome because it might be informative to
others? It is certainly a topic that recurs over and over again.


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'