Hello Janet,

Monday, January 10, 2005, 9:22:54 PM, you wrote:

(You don't call them "yards" in the U.K.?)

JB No, we went metric.

Ignore my last post. I was totally sucked in there as I didn't read
further back. I'll crawl back under my stone!

--
Best regards,
Richard (remove NS to reply)
mailto:richard.wakeford@wanadoNS/fr

The message
from Alan Gould contains these words:


You may take that view of your own advice if you wish Kay, but many non
UK gardeners have been very grateful for help given to them by urglers,
and long may they continue to do so. Gardening is a global activity and
the Internet is a global means of communication. Any mailing about UK
recreational gardening is welcome here.

UK recreational gardening is on topic, american law is not.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

...
..

Square rod shirley?

No! That's 302.5 square Yards.


--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

"Michelle C" wrote
I forgot to mention, these same neighbors complain about the leaves my
trees drop into their yard each fall.

I wonder if they will ask me to rake their yard for them? :-0
I had a neighbour like that once, miserable old woman, my reply when she
complained nastily about my trees leaves was to say "I would have thought my
name and address would have been washed off them by now".
If she had asked nicely I'd have raked them up for her but nice wasn't in
her nature.

--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London

On 10/1/05 19:40, in article , "Michelle C"
wrote:

Thanks for your reply, Sasha,

Maybe the growing conditions are not as good in my yard, but the Silver Lace
vines only require trimming every 2-3 weeks, as I said.

I disagree with you though about how "patient" these neighbors are. They
have no trees of their own, and two years ago installed a above-ground
swimming pool in their yard. Since then they've complained numerous times
about my trees (mature oaks and elms) blocking the morning sun from their
pool, and the westerly neighbor's trees (oaks) of blocking the the afternoon
sun. They actually asked him if he would cut his oak tree down because of
this!

I only asked about the legality of their complaint out of curiousity. I have
no intention of taking them to court. I'll trim the vines, and if they
persist in being cranky, I'll cut them down and install a privacy fence -
one of my own choosing - and ask nothing of them in way of renumeration.


None of which you mentioned in your original post and none of which have
anything to do with a Polygonum eating some of your neighbour's plants. As
to the legality, you would need to ask either a lawyer in your home State or
garner opinions on a US group. If you have a garden big enough to house
mature oaks and elms in the plural, then I can't imagine you and your
neighbours need to have much to do with each other unless you choose to do
so. Good luck.
--

Sacha
(remove the weeds for email)

None of which you mentioned in your original post and none of which have
anything to do with a Polygonum eating some of your neighbour's plants.

Yes, it's known as "additional" information. I supplied it because I thought
it would help people to better understand the situation. Am I not allowed to
do that?


If you have a garden big enough to house mature
oaks and elms in the plural, then I can't imagine you and your neighbours
need to have much to do with each other unless you choose to do so.

Except when it comes to their petty complaints.

I like to think we are a friendly bunch of people in here, and comments
like;

As you are an American, I suggest that as someone has upset you, you bomb
the hell out of them, invade their garden, occupy it, take their natural
resources to pay for the damage, and then insist that they thank you for
showing them the American Way.
Have a nice day y'all.


are totally uncalled for ......Duncan!

However, I would have thought the best place to post your question,
Michelle, would be in rec.gardening.
The legal situation in the U.S. will probably be quite different to the U.K.
But morally it would be the same, and I think it is a shame that it was
allowed to get to this situation in the first place.

Three years ago, my neighbours were storing a canoe up against the chain
link
fence that separates our backyards. It was an eyesore. My opinion is that
I
have no right complaining to my neighbours about what they do on their own
property, so I took a pro-active approach instead. I planted some Silver
Lace vines on the chain link fence. This worked very well and by the end
of
summer it hid the canoe, and it looked really nice.

It would have been better for you to have asked them politely in the first
place if it was possible to store the canoe in a less obvious position.
They may simply not have realised it was causing a problem for you. If on
the other hand they decided it was their backyard and they would put things
where they wanted to, then you at least would have had the measure of the
type of neighbour you have next door to you.

The following year, they got rid of the canoe and planted a flower garden
in
its place. Even though I no longer needed the vines, they looked so
beautiful that I kept them.

Did you consider, as they were new neighbours that maybe they were busy
interior decorating, and as is the case in a lot of new house owners, the
garden (or yard) has a tendency to be the last thing cleaned up?

Considering the wide range of plants, shrubs and screening material that is
available these days, I am surprised that you chose a vine to cover the
fence, most urban gardeners I know spend hours trying to get rid of the
stuff, not buying it in! And under you own admission, you have to cut your
side back every two to three weeks, which is quite often compared to most
other plants in the garden.

In the U.K. you would not be legally obliged or allowed to cut your vine on
their side of the property, but you would be legally obliged to accept back
any trimmings of your vine that they had cut from their side.

But ask yourself is it fair that you have made more work in their garden
for your pleasure? Especially as the original problem was sorted and
replaced with less objectionable plants and shrubs.

During the Christmas holidays, I invited these neighbours over for a
holiday
drink, and James said "Michelle, you're going to have to do something
about
those vines." When I asked him what he meant, he said that the vines were
growing into their yard and are strangling their plants.

Its a shame you didn't admit to planting the vines to cover the "eyesore"
canoe at this point, this may have invoked an "I'm sorry you should have
said" response. Again another lost opportunity.

I changed the topic and wasn't the same for the rest of the evening. I was
insulted that they would come into my home, drink my wine, and use it as
an
opportunity to criticize me. Plus, it's winter! Why is he bringing that up
in the middle of winter?

But you invited them to drink your wine and eat your food???? Winter is a
good time to talk about plants and flowers, something to look forward to.

To be honest if I were you, I'd swallow my pride and remove the vines (if it
is possible by now as they seem quite established), before they
inadvertently "catch " your vine with weed killer!

You said in a later post that the neighbour complained about trees blocking
the light and the mess of the leaves in the autumn, well they must have
realised that when they viewed and purchased the property, so they have no
grounds to complain.

--
(remove the troll to reply)
Always look on the bright side of life (De do, de do, de doody doody do)



"Michelle C" wrote in message
...

snip
Now, three years later, they are a magnificent backdrop to the rest of my
flower garden. It's a backdrop to their flower garden too, and they didn't
even have to pay for it.

snip
I told him that it's a vine, and all vines need trimming occasionally. I
told him I trim my side of the vine every two or three weeks in the
summer,
and it only takes about five minutes each time. I said that's a small
price
to pay for having such a beautiful plant that is covering what was an ugly
chain link fence.

He told me that he and his wife shouldn't have to trim it at all, because
it
was my vine. He said if I were willing to trim it on their side of the
fence
from now on, they wouldn't have a problem with it, but if I don't do this,
I'd have to "do something about my vines". He of course means I should
kill
the plants to make him happy.

snip
I have already decided that I will trim the vines on their side of the
fence. But now I'm wondering who is right, and who is wrong, in this
situation? Am I right to think my neighbors are cranky? Does the law
obligate me to trim vines that enter my neighbors yard? Should they accept
the minor chore of vine trimming in return for having such a beautiful
backdrop (their words) to their garden?

TIA!
Michelle

"Michelle C" wrote in message
...
Three years ago, my neighbors were storing a canoe up against the chain
link
fence that separates our backyards. It was an eyesore. My opinion is that
I
have no right complaining to my neighbors about what they do on their own
property, so I took a pro-active approach instead. I planted some Silver
Lace vines on the chain link fence. This worked very well and by the end
of
summer it hid the canoe, and it looked really nice.

The following year, they got rid of the canoe and planted a flower garden
in
its place. Even though I no longer needed the vines, they looked so
beautiful that I kept them.

Now, three years later, they are a magnificent backdrop to the rest of my
flower garden. It's a backdrop to their flower garden too, and they didn't
even have to pay for it.

During the Christmas holidays, I invited these neighbors over for a
holiday
drink, and James said "Michelle, you're going to have to do something
about
those vines." When I asked him what he meant, he said that the vines were
growing into their yard and are strangling their plants.

I told him that it's a vine, and all vines need trimming occasionally. I
told him I trim my side of the vine every two or three weeks in the
summer,
and it only takes about five minutes each time. I said that's a small
price
to pay for having such a beautiful plant that is covering what was an ugly
chain link fence.

He told me that he and his wife shouldn't have to trim it at all, because
it
was my vine. He said if I were willing to trim it on their side of the
fence
from now on, they wouldn't have a problem with it, but if I don't do this,
I'd have to "do something about my vines". He of course means I should
kill
the plants to make him happy.

I changed the topic and wasn't the same for the rest of the evening. I was
insulted that they would come into my home, drink my wine, and use it as
an
opportunity to criticize me. Plus, it's winter! Why is he bringing that up
in the middle of winter?

I have already decided that I will trim the vines on their side of the
fence. But now I'm wondering who is right, and who is wrong, in this
situation? Am I right to think my neighbors are cranky? Does the law
obligate me to trim vines that enter my neighbors yard? Should they accept
the minor chore of vine trimming in return for having such a beautiful
backdrop (their words) to their garden?

TIA!
Michelle



As far as I'm aware, in Britain the neighbours would not be able to stop you
growing vines along your fence, although they can obliterate any part of it
that overhangs their garden. Personally I don't take well to threats, so if
your neighbour made a veiled threat to "do something" about your vines
whilst standing in your home and accepting your hospitality I'd become very
resistant to doing his will....you were the person he made these comments
to, only you can give them any context.

You are in a bit of a spot because your neighbour has the ability to
ruin your life ( and his ) by turning this into a feud, so consider your
approach carefully. The only thing I would say was to consider if you are
causing a nuisance to him in some way, obviously you like the vines but he
obviously resents doing that sort of gardening. How about a third course of
action: you keep the vines, but put a 6 foot wooden fence behind them? That
way, as long as you chop them off at the top every few weeks, your
neighbours cannot moan. It's a little expense to go to on your part, but
keeps your vines and pride!

Andy.

In article , Janet Baraclough
writes

Didn't you read the header OR the thread ? The poster Kay correctly
advised, is seeking information specific to American law.

The mailing was about vines and neighbour/garden relationships, topics
often discussed here.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

In article ,
wrote:
On 10 Jan 2005 21:22:34 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article ,
Janet Baraclough wrote:
The message
from "Michelle C" contains these words:

I'm in the USA. I realize that our laws are often different, and what
applies in the U.K. may not apply here. I'm just curious.

(You don't call them "yards" in the U.K.?)

No, we went metric.

I deny that my yard has ever been metricated.

Square rod shirley?

My rod is a perfectly normal shape, thank you. And her name isn't
Shirley.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.
[ Yes, I know that I am being ridiculous, and pedantically vulgar,
but this thread justifies it. ]


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

your neighbour sounds like a bit of a grumpy old dude - just rise above it and in spring merrily trim the vines on their side with a beaming smile. whistle while you do it, too. grumpy people hate that.

I would remove the vines though, as advised above. they will just get bigger, as will the problem! there must be plenty of pretty non-invasive climbers in america, you could look on it as an opportunity to experiment...

bob

"Michelle C" wrote in message
...

obligate

Just a matter of curiosity - is that an accepted american word? Does it
have a specific meaning or is it the same as 'oblige'? (To oblige
someone to do something is to put a duty upon them to do it)
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article , Michelle C
writes

None of which you mentioned in your original post and none of which have
anything to do with a Polygonum eating some of your neighbour's plants.

Yes, it's known as "additional" information. I supplied it because I thought
it would help people to better understand the situation. Am I not allowed to
do that?


If you have a garden big enough to house mature
oaks and elms in the plural, then I can't imagine you and your neighbours
need to have much to do with each other unless you choose to do so.

Except when it comes to their petty complaints.

Complaints, yes, but who is to say they are petty? Lack of sun on a
swimming pool I can understand might be a disappointment - OK, maybe
they should have thought about it before installing, but they didn't, so
it's always worth the asking. Having 17 -26 times a year to cut down a
plant which is not of your choosing and doesn't belong to you is a
pretty big irritation. Being able to see a canoe from your garden? Well,
beside that, lack of sun and extra work clearly pales completely into
insignificance.

--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

In article ,
Kay wrote:
"Michelle C" wrote in message
...

obligate

Just a matter of curiosity - is that an accepted american word? Does it
have a specific meaning or is it the same as 'oblige'? (To oblige
someone to do something is to put a duty upon them to do it)

Dunno, but it's a perfectly good English word, with the meaning that
you assume (often used in a legal or semi-legal sense). It may be
most often used as an adjective, but it has been a perfectly good
verb since 1533.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Garden, garth and yard all derive from the "enclosure" sense of *gher-. the Indo-European root *gher- which had the meaning of "to grasp" or "to enclose". http://www.takeourword.com/TOW149/page1.html