Quit everything , and start again over 50?

lessonlearned

Dont tell them anything.........the mere sniff of a dispute will send people running...........

Edited......And be careful using expressions like "eccentric neighbour". It's often a euphemism for "neighbour from hell". Act dumb, say nothing.

If anyone does ask just say it got damaged, no need to elaborate. You could always blame the heavy rain if pressed......or slugs or aphids. Lol.

Replace the plant, if the EA asks just say you decided to replace it with something nicer.... If you buy something nicer then you won't be lying.

If you think she's likely to have go at that one as well then don't bother. If pressed why you have not replaced it you could say the plant got damaged and you thought that the new owners might want to choose their own.

Just edited to add. I agree some temporary "colour" - geraniums would be perfect.

At all costs do not get into a confrontational situation with your neighbour at this stage, then, if any one asks you can truthfully say you have not had any neighbour disputes.

TBH I think overgrown gardens, especially boundary hedges can cause all sorts of problems. I think this might be an issue with one of the properties I will be viewing this week. I'll keep an open mind and have a look but I'm doubtful. Rather large Leylandii hedge:eek:

My post crossed - so sorry if it's a bit jumbled.

another_casualty

Lleylandi ( spelling ). = nightmare. That's what my ' neighbour' has in her front garden .
Dexters called . I did tell them ,' my neighbour did it by mistake '
( too late).
Told Dexters I will go with them in 4 weeks.
They were keen to get things moving ( too keen IMHO )
They want me to give notice this week .
I won't do that until 1 week before.

If chase Buchanan call me in the meantime , I'll take your advice about the plant, saying it was damaged etc
I'll wait and do nothing now .

Smodlet

Hi AC, all, hope you are all doing OK.

Perhaps it is my lack of knowledge but is the damaged plant likely to be a deal-breaker? Especially if you change EAs, get new photos and they show what is rather than what was, plant-wise?

Maybe you could put the geraniums in a pot/tub/hanging basket (that last could be expensive but less so if you buy the basket, the compost and the plants separately) as then your neighbour would be deliberately vandalising your property rather than being over-enthusiastic with her pruning. No gardener would prune in the middle of the growing season, for a start.

Leylandi-wise, I think you are allowed to cut back any vegetation which overhangs your property, provided you hand it back to its owner. No kidding, pretty sure this is legal, LL might know for sure.

I agree regarding the dispute; perhaps the next occupant will have no issue with your neighbour. They may get on really well. It is not as if you have had bricks through your window or serious noise issues, is it? It's about plants and therefore somewhat subjective, I would venture (unless I have missed other issues) The squirrels were plant-related and have now moved out, no?

I wish I could see your pad but understand you probably don't want to post the link here. I did look on RM but could not narrow it down with any certainty. Doubt I could contribute anything LL, Gallygirl and others cannot, anyway.

Please, AC, try not to get hung up on what sound to me like relatively minor details. Gods, if the plant is that big an issue, tell buyers you will buy them a garden centre voucher on completion! The plant could have had sentimental value and been something you were going to take with you, anyway. OH brought tons of garden stuff when we moved, tubs/pots etc., not trees in the ground, but we told our buyers we were doing so, so no probs. You have to go down a check list of stuff you are leaving and taking, anyway, when it gets that far. Unless it was Jack's beanstalk, I doubt it is significant. Stress not!

lessonlearned

Don't talk to me about leaving plants.......:mad:

I did the decent thing and didn't move anything. I took a few cuttings but left everything intact.

Next thing I know the new people had dug up everything, I mean everything, and paved the lot, front and rear. Not one single plant left.

Including a very expensive Acer, worth at least £200, a stunning Japanese flowering cherry tree and loads of very nice mature shrubs, a little stream and a water feature. Lovingly collected pebbles (OK nicked from the beach:rotfl:) A perfect Japanese style garden just ripped up.

She told me she had given them to family, my neighbours told me she had skipped the lot and then allowed the workers to pile rubble on top, crushing them all and destroying everything.

My neighbours were going to rescue the plants and divide them up among themselves but it was too late, they were destroyed.

I have no problem my neighbours helping themselves. They were more than welcome. I have no problem with the new neighbours turning a pretty garden into a glorified car park......not necessary there was already a decent drive and garage. Or the fact that the once pretty back garden is now a home to rusting bbqs, outgrown bikes and broken toys, It's their home after all, no longer any of my business. They can do what they like with it.

But I was shocked at the wilful destruction of beautiful specimen trees. There was ££££ worth of plants and 25 years of work just ripped up......and I do feel sorry for my old neighbours having to look at such an eyesore.

At the time Everyone told me I should take the Acer with me and replace it with something else but I thought it wrong to remove it.

You live and learn........

I am currently nurturing some specimen trees. I buy them as saplings when they are cheaper. Some in the ground and some in pots. The ones in the ground will stay of course but the ones in pots will move with me, so at least I will have a head start when I do get my new garden.

another_casualty

Thanks. I'll probably leave it as is .
Just thought of another scenario that may have happened :
My neighbour cut some shrubbery and may have cut the opposite neighbours . This means , that the neighbour opposite may have retaliated !
So, this evening may be eventful . I may have a note in my door.
I may have an angry neighbour . I may have 2 angry neighbours .
We may all have to talk together .
Or , nothing may happen .

I just wanna move

Smodlet

Poor LL! I really feel for you, OH would even more so. He still laments all the things he left behind, even though we had nowhere to put them, pretty much, until now... well, when the patio's finished.

He wishes he had brought the other table and chairs, the rain butt, the lawnmower (a petrol one for a handkerchief-sized lawn, now) but the cost of transporting it (seventy miles) just did not seem worth it at the time. At least he did bring cuttings from trees that he potted up two years before we moved, when we first knew we would have to, many of which are in the ground, now. There is an oak tree grown from an acorn he got from somewhere or other!

AC, is this giving you a bit of perspective, yet? Maybe your garden negotiations will prove fruitful... perhaps you will even become a consultant to the pillockiticians when negotiating our Brexit strategy. Are you being a tough room, again?

another_casualty

Smodlet, dealing wth what is in front of me , it could be volatile .
If you saw my last post , you will understand .

Smodlet

Hey, it'll be fine. Maybe neighbours have better things to do and if not, just keep calm and thereby keep the upper hand. It is a plant, not a deal breaker. New photos will not even show it.

S x

lessonlearned

Smodlet.......I love your jokes.

Re negotiations with ACs neighbours being good practice for a Brexit strategy.........

Reminds me of a joke my husband used to make about himself.......his job often necessitated some heavy duty negotiating, he was very good at it and could always be relied on to diffuse potentially explosive situations (often using humour)

Anyway after one particularly gruelling round the head honcho called on him to thank him and congratulate him, saying what a first class negotiator he was.

With a dead pan straight face my husband said. "Well the Diplomatic Core did try to recruit me, but I told them to F... Off".

His boss just cracked up.

Smodlet

Lovin' it, lovin' it, LL. I wish I could have had the chance to meet him, if only via MSE. I know you must miss him terribly but you found the one, by the sound of it. Something I thought I would never do; we are both so lucky.

I think, if AC just had a real friend around at this time, any kind of a real friend rather than just we virtual ones, everything would be a thousand times easier. You know what I mean, LL.

Thank you for the pick-me-up, thought I had put my big, old, Smodlet-sized foot in it, plant-wise. Maybe AC could take a leaf (geddit?) out of OH's old book and just tell prospective buyers, "if you cant' eat it, it's a weed." :rotfl: He has since converted to the whole tree and flower part of life. One must excuse him. When I got him, he came from an allotment (more or less literally, used to hide from his first wife there) rather than a garden background. I am beginning to wonder whether AC is anti-plant altogether... perhaps it is time he thought of branching out.