Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this purpose.

Ta

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely is not an option

stoneysteve wrote in
s.com:

Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

Most trees will either take a while to reach that height, or you will have
to keep cutting them back later on.

A tall shrub might be better, or perhaps a bamboo?

What about Leycesteria formosa, the pheasantberry? That gets to about 8
feet in my garden, and is very dense. The bees and birds love it, and it's
very attractive and fastgrowing (though the berries can make a bit of a
mess).

Those pencil-thin cyprus you get are probably too narrow: you'd just
accentuate the problem by sticking a line through it.

A climber on an obelisk or an arch might be another nice solution. One of
the (mostly) evergreen honeysuckles, perhaps?

How much space do you have? Is it dark or sunny? What is the soil like?

Victoria

The spot in question is along the west fence in a south facing garden. There is no other planting in the area. I'm not sure what the soil is like as it is a new development(lots of rubble I'd guess)

Steve

"stoneysteve" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

Ta

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely
is not an option

It would sound as if the judicious use of an airgun or a catapult might be
to the point.

Franz

"stoneysteve" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

Ta

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely
is not an option

Since you've asked an airgun is prob out of the q as you would be the first
suspect. If its close enough, a quick squirt from one of those kids water
soaker pistols might break it since the bulbs get v hot and a splash of cold
water might breka it (just a guess).
Otherwise, plant a leylandii or two as close as you can, best bet for rapid
growth.

--
Tumbleweed

Remove theobvious before replying (but no email reply necessary to
newsgroups)

in article , Franz Heymann at
wrote on 27/8/03 3:48 pm:


"stoneysteve" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

Ta

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely
is not an option

It would sound as if the judicious use of an airgun or a catapult might be
to the point.

Franz



I would suggest a silvered screen of some sort which will reflect the light
*back* into his eyes, house, garden, bedroom etc. and THEN plant the hedge.
--

Sacha
(remove the 'x' to email me)

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ...
"stoneysteve" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

Ta

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely
is not an option

It would sound as if the judicious use of an airgun or a catapult might be
to the point.

Count my vote for the ballistic approach. But you might perhaps get
the idiot to see that those things are the skilled intruder's dream:
you can't see a thing going on beyond the light, but they can still
see when you've gone out, or to bed.

Mike.

Sacha wrote in message
...
in article , Franz Heymann at
wrote on 27/8/03 3:48 pm:


"stoneysteve" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.


I would suggest a silvered screen of some sort which will reflect the
light
*back* into his eyes, house, garden, bedroom etc. and THEN plant the
hedge.
--
Clever, but the sophisticate would suggest a concave mirror. Archimedes?
Ships? Syracuse? Anybody?


; )


Liz

The message m
from stoneysteve contains these words:

Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

Ta

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely
is not an option

Try asking your local council's advice; perhaps he's offending local
bylaws. Or look carefully in your house deeds. In a new housing
development, you might find there are useful restrictions on what
degrees of nuisance neighbours may inflict on each other.

You'd need an evergreen tree since the light will be on longest in
winter; perhaps either a conifer or holly. Holly would take several
years to reach a useful size for your needs; leylandii cypress could do
it much faster.

You could also ask him to fit a much smaller halogen bulb.

Janet.

"Tumbleweed" wrote in message
. ..
"stoneysteve" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

Ta

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely
is not an option

Since you've asked an airgun is prob out of the q as you would be the
first
suspect. If its close enough, a quick squirt from one of those kids water
soaker pistols might break it since the bulbs get v hot and a splash of
cold
water might breka it (just a guess).
Otherwise, plant a leylandii or two as close as you can, best bet for
rapid
growth.

More seriously than my previous suggestion to use an airgun or a catapult,
Sacha has the best suggestion so far. It should be easy to make a 3ft
square mirror by fixing a silvered plastic sheet on a wooden frame and mount
the whole very carefully to reflect his own light somewhere where it will
cause maximum annoyance to him. I did it to a neighbour who was being
unhelpful, and the lamp is no longer switched on. Luckily they had a
bedroom window facing in the right direction.

Franz

"stoneysteve" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

Ta

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely
is not an option
--
stoneysteve
------------------------------------------------------------------------
posted via www.GardenBanter.co.uk


Much though i loathe Leylandi it would seem that in this instance its
definitely your best bet
I suggest you gently tell him that if he refuses to be reasonable then you
will plant Leylandi and you will not reduce their height ...........you
might need to put it in writing and even copy it to your councils
Environmental Health Officer if as I suspect they tell you theres nothing
they can do

You should be able to get some pretty tall container grown Leylandii if you
check nurseries etc

"Liz" wrote in message
...

Sacha wrote in message
...
in article , Franz Heymann at
wrote on 27/8/03 3:48 pm:


"stoneysteve" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W
HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me
should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant
a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.


I would suggest a silvered screen of some sort which will reflect the
light
*back* into his eyes, house, garden, bedroom etc. and THEN plant the
hedge.
--
Clever, but the sophisticate would suggest a concave mirror. Archimedes?
Ships? Syracuse? Anybody?

On the contrary, that would not have the desired effect. The recipient
would see nothing if the he/she stood outside the focussed beam, and the
lamp does not produce enough radiant energy to allow a focussed beam to set
fire to the neighbour.
{:-))

Franz

In article ,
bnd777 wrote:

"stoneysteve" wrote in message
ws.com...

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely
is not an option

Much though i loathe Leylandi it would seem that in this instance its
definitely your best bet

Perhaps. But only if the noisesome neighbour is to the NORTH. If
to the south, the cure will be worse than the disease.

I suggest you gently tell him that if he refuses to be reasonable then you
will plant Leylandi and you will not reduce their height ...........you
might need to put it in writing and even copy it to your councils
Environmental Health Officer if as I suspect they tell you theres nothing
they can do

I would strongly advise doing nothing of the sort! Documenting what
could be classed as revenge planting is NOT a good idea. Yes, plant
them, but say that their purpose is for screening out the light.
Listen politely to requests for lopping them and ignore them. When
the neighbour is sufficiently disturbed, say you will remove them
if he signs a contract not to use a floodlight. And get a solicitor
to phrase the contract, and make sure that it is part of the deeds!

I am not a lawyer, but am pretty sure that is the correct approach.

You should be able to get some pretty tall container grown Leylandii if you
check nurseries etc

You can.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
bnd777 wrote:

"stoneysteve" wrote in message
ws.com...

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.

PS He has previously refused to leave the light off so asking politely
is not an option

Much though i loathe Leylandi it would seem that in this instance its
definitely your best bet

Perhaps. But only if the noisesome neighbour is to the NORTH. If
to the south, the cure will be worse than the disease.

I suggest you gently tell him that if he refuses to be reasonable then
you
will plant Leylandi and you will not reduce their height ...........you
might need to put it in writing and even copy it to your councils
Environmental Health Officer if as I suspect they tell you theres nothing
they can do

I would strongly advise doing nothing of the sort! Documenting what
could be classed as revenge planting is NOT a good idea. Yes, plant
them, but say that their purpose is for screening out the light.
Listen politely to requests for lopping them and ignore them. When
the neighbour is sufficiently disturbed, say you will remove them
if he signs a contract not to use a floodlight. And get a solicitor
to phrase the contract, and make sure that it is part of the deeds!

I am not a lawyer, but am pretty sure that is the correct approach.


Nothing in writing.

No connection or contact with the Council or Police.

No letters from Solicitors.

No mirrors to reflect/direct back the light.

BECAUSE, when you come to sell your house, (assuming you are owner occupier)
then these disputes have to be recorded and mentioned in future searches
:-((

Just go ahead and plant Leylandi.

Say nothing to anyone until you are asked to trim.

Hope that helps.

On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 20:44:19 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


"Liz" wrote in message
...

Sacha wrote in message
...
in article , Franz Heymann at
wrote on 27/8/03 3:48 pm:


"stoneysteve" wrote in message
s.com...
Hi,

My neighbour insists on switching on his "retina burner" (500W
HAaogen
Light) every night which lights up my whole garden and blinds me
should
I look out my kitchen window after about 9 pm . I would like to plant
a
bushy tree about 8-9 feet high to partially block this out. Can you
suggest something tallish with dense foliage which might suit this
purpose.


I would suggest a silvered screen of some sort which will reflect the
light
*back* into his eyes, house, garden, bedroom etc. and THEN plant the
hedge.
--
Clever, but the sophisticate would suggest a concave mirror. Archimedes?
Ships? Syracuse? Anybody?

On the contrary, that would not have the desired effect. The recipient
would see nothing if the he/she stood outside the focussed beam, and the
lamp does not produce enough radiant energy to allow a focussed beam to set
fire to the neighbour.
{:-))

It depends on the optics of the mirror and it's alignment with the
sun. It was stray light guv. 'onest.
:-)
--
Martin