Full Garden Renovation – Upstairs Neighbor's part …. How to deal with it?

thegreenone

I find it a bit strange that a family don't use their garden space.  You may find that if you do all the work and expense, they start to love it and your quiet time in your lovely newly done garden is ruined by balls, trampolines, screaming children etc.  Don't do it.  Put up some screening and ignore.

Woolsery

casper_gutman said:

 Alternatively, how much would it cost to turn the lawn in their part of the garden into a wildflower meadow type area which might only need mowing once or twice a year?

Proper wildflower meadow creation is one of the hardest forms of gardening there is. Many people try.....

twopenny

I think the op has the right idea as it will make it a more comfortable space on his side.
But I'd stick to clearing and tidying. Plenty of cheap seeds and plants to make it nicer in small ways.
Ive found the £2 clematis do well. A packet of mixed seeds 80p.
Can't tell you how many gardens I've made beautiful only to see them tarmaced over. My last place they dumped breez blocks on the 50yr old amazing Peony and grubbed up all the musk roses and fruit trees to build a bar out of rough planks. So don't put in more effort than to make it tidy. 

phoebe1989seb

twopenny said:

I think the op has the right idea as it will make it a more comfortable space on his side.
But I'd stick to clearing and tidying. Plenty of cheap seeds and plants to make it nicer in small ways.
Ive found the £2 clematis do well. A packet of mixed seeds 80p.
Can't tell you how many gardens I've made beautiful only to see them tarmaced over. My last place they dumped breez blocks on the 50yr old amazing Peony and grubbed up all the musk roses and fruit trees to build a bar out of rough planks. So don't put in more effort than to make it tidy. 

Indeed 🙄

We've sold to a few philistines like that too, including the ones who ripped up all our carefully chosen shrubs/trees (a gorgeous yellow magnolia in particular, springs to mind 🙁) in the front garden to create additional parking!

At our current house, we were informed by a guy who came to quote for drilling our borehole that he'd also been called to quote by a previous prospective purchaser, who had stated their intention of tarmacking over the entire 0.5+ acre 😡😡😡

That wouldn't have gone down well as the garden is on the Historic Parks and Gardens register locally.

In the OP's position, I'd clear the neighbour's garden, put up screening/fence, but no more....

TELLIT01

phoebe1989seb said:

We've sold to a few philistines like that too, including the ones who ripped up all our carefully chosen shrubs/trees (a gorgeous yellow magnolia in particular, springs to mind 🙁) in the front garden to create additional parking!

People purchase a property because they see that it fulfils their requirements.  If that means changing what the current owner thinks is a beautiful garden into a parking area, that is their right.  Would a vendor expect a new purchaser to keep the interior exactly the same?

When new people move into the house next to us they ripped out much of the planting from the back garden because the wanted an area for their young children to play in safely.  The previous occupants loved roses, which aren't exactly the safest of plants to surround a play area with.

unforeseen

I will then speak to my upstairs neighbor to seek verbal agreement that they are okay for me to use their part if I make it up.

If it's such a large garden, where your half is sufficient, why would you want/need to use their half? 

Woolsery

unforeseen said:

I will then speak to my upstairs neighbor to seek verbal agreement that they are okay for me to use their part if I make it up.

If it's such a large garden, where your half is sufficient, why would you want/need to use their half? 

To plant veggies and similar when what's coming down the track at us becomes more apparent?