New neighbor doesn't like my plants (Phoenix: neighborhoods, buyers, maintenance)

[Heidi60]

OP, you have some great suggestions so there isn't much new I can offer, other than to check your zoning regulations.

We had an unemployed lawyer as a renter-neighbor who sprayed the rose bushes lining my driveway killing them. He wasn't well thought of in the Phoenix legal community as his mental stablity had become known. He attempted to intimidate the neighbors with his law degree but anyone with common sense saw his attempted manipulation. When he messed with his gas meter one night we woke up to the smell of gas in our yard. Not knowing what he had done, we reported a leak to the gas company. Of course he claimed we had no right to do that. His burglar alarm went off so often the cops refused to respond. Your post reminded me of how happy we were when the jerk moved on.

Be patient and keep trying to work things out peacefully.

[DougStark]

Why are some people in this town so insistent that no bushes or trees should grow over the property line? I welcome all available shade in this shade-starved, hot town. It's so bizarre to me. Geez...

[DetroitN8V]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Why are some people in this town so insistent that no bushes or trees should grow over the property line? I welcome all available shade in this shade-starved, hot town. It's so bizarre to me. Geez...

I agree. As I've mentioned before, it also lessens the harsh feeling of the concrete walls. My neighbor has a mesquite tree that is almost half in my yard. I don't mind at all. I like the added shade and privacy.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Why are some people in this town so insistent that no bushes or trees should grow over the property line? I welcome all available shade in this shade-starved, hot town. It's so bizarre to me. Geez...

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

I agree. As I've mentioned before, it also lessens the harsh feeling of the concrete walls. My neighbor has a mesquite tree that is almost half in my yard. I don't mind at all. I like the added shade and privacy.

I'm with you guys on this one, Doug and Detroit . . .

A bush or a tree does nothing but ADD to a property in the Desert Southwest.

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by Bummer

I'm with you guys on this one, Doug and Detroit . . .

A bush or a tree does nothing but ADD to a property in the Desert Southwest.

And I'm with you Bummer, Doug, and Detroit. It's a landslide!

Interesting similiar story to the OP, but in reverse. When we moved out here in Goodyear and met our next door neighbor, he was showing me a large tree in his backyard and how he trims it so it doesn't hang over our fence, had me sight down the fence, etc. I had to laugh and I told him I appreciate him being so conscientious but really, I love your tree and if it grows over our property line, no worries. It sounds like the person who used to live in our house was like the OP's neighbor and would harass my poor neighbor endlessly, even about trees 20' from the property line that blew a few leaves over on windy days. My next door neighbor actually cut down one of his trees for this individual to keep peace and the next door neighbor agreed to do the same with one of their trees....but.....they didn't stick with their side of the bargain and never cut their tree down. Nice!

I think some people need a hobby or something.

[Aztech]

Bummer, Doug, Detroit and Steve, why can't I have neighbors like you? There are a couple of huge, ugly pine trees across the street from me (nobody knew they'd get that big when the original wonder planted his small, live Christmas trees ). They're ugly and messy, but they've shaded my house in the summer for the past 20 years. I have a yard full of nice plants, and have trees to provide shade so I don't have to use so much water. I keep them neat, and prevent the messy seed pods from sprouting. I get the palm trees trimmed and I pull the weeds. The house on the other side of me was sold in a short sale a few years ago. The previous owner kept up the yard, but the new owners let everything die. I have bushes on that side, too, and they love them -especially since they don't have to take care of them. They finally decided to water their small area of grass, and it grew about 8 inches high. I found out they hadn't been feeling well, so I offered to cut it. It drained my lawnmower's battery twice and took 3 passes to get it all the way down. They were thrilled. They had foot tall weeds growing in their rocks, so I pulled those out while I was at it. With my other neighbor, I have a feeling (judging by his temper) that even if he demanded I trim the plants back on his side, he would have me charged with trespassing.

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by Aztech

Bummer, Doug, Detroit and Steve, why can't I have neighbors like you? There are a couple of huge, ugly pine trees across the street from me (nobody knew they'd get that big when the original wonder planted his small, live Christmas trees ). They're ugly and messy, but they've shaded my house in the summer for the past 20 years. I have a yard full of nice plants, and have trees to provide shade so I don't have to use so much water. I keep them neat, and prevent the messy seed pods from sprouting. I get the palm trees trimmed and I pull the weeds. The house on the other side of me was sold in a short sale a few years ago. The previous owner kept up the yard, but the new owners let everything die. I have bushes on that side, too, and they love them -especially since they don't have to take care of them. They finally decided to water their small area of grass, and it grew about 8 inches high. I found out they hadn't been feeling well, so I offered to cut it. It drained my lawnmower's battery twice and took 3 passes to get it all the way down. They were thrilled. They had foot tall weeds growing in their rocks, so I pulled those out while I was at it. With my other neighbor, I have a feeling (judging by his temper) that even if he demanded I trim the plants back on his side, he would have me charged with trespassing.

I wish you could be a neighbor of ours also!

Sorry to hear you have to go through all of this. Unfortunately neighbors are like family....we can't choose them. And right, best to trust your gut on how to deal with this guy as there are some people out there that are unstable.

I wish you the best in this situation.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by DougStark

Why are some people in this town so insistent that no bushes or trees should grow over the property line? I welcome all available shade in this shade-starved, hot town. It's so bizarre to me. Geez...

I'd welcome actual *shade* trees growing near / over property lines, but so far my only experiences with neighboring vegitation were with things like cat's claw going wild on my block wall ( looked awful & cost a couple hundred bucks to have it cut off my side of the wall & hauled away, & it comes back every year). At my bro's place he's got a neighbor with a wild orange tree that drops prolly 40-50 huge/tastless/rotten oranges on his yard every year & another neighbor with a tree of unknown species that doesn't provide any measurable amount of shade, but it does provide lots of low-hanging branches that scrape his nearly-new $4k shingle roof.

Part of the beauty & appeal of a block-walled yard to me is that I don't have to look at my neighbor's junk & that includes their plantings. When I rehabbed the yard @ my place, I hired a bobcat to haul away 25 years (40 tons!) of previous owners saturday projects. There were inexplicable dirt piles, a "patio" fourty-feet from the house, weed-trees (palo verde & palms), electric lines & irrigation pipes to nowhere, a mishmash of multiple kinds of rock & curbing.. It prolly cost close to $3k (and I'm a cheapskate) to get a barren, flat "moonscape" out back with only rocks, a shed & a grill there. I actually really adore the "moonscape". I can hose the entire back yard in pramitol & spend exactly zero hours per year on my knees picking weeds & trimming things. We put a small amount of low-maintenance plants in the front yard (just enough plants to blend in with the neighbors) & even keeping that small front-yard weed-free & trimmed is a thankless chore, so I can certainly understand & empathize with a neighbor not wanting to deal with plantings chosen by someone else hanging over into their yard.

Part of the benefit of living in the desert is that I don't have to spend 2-3 hours every week mowing a lawn, trimming & edging. Pretty much every plant/bush or tree that will survive here produces some quantity or combination of pods/ pickers or sticky-goo & why would you expect your neighbors to deal with that?

[MalteseJane]

Knock on wood, everywhere we lived we had good neighbors. Never had a problem. Here where we live now, all our neighbors are nice people. We try to help each other. We have a neighbor only on one side and we have a view fence. I am not going to hassle with him because a branch of his tree comes over the fence and he does either. We have the same landscaper taking care of our yards. I have a string acacia close to the fence and make the landscaper cut off what's going over the fence. My neighbor has a mesquite tree close by and they even cut it too much to my liking. But heck, it's my neighbors tree. If he does not mind, why should I. Right now his tree is beautiful again and if a branch comes over the fence I am not going to make a fuss about it.

[Heidi60]

These posts are making me so glad I left the desert!