Grrr my neighbor killed my landscaping!!!

    • Gold Top Dog

    Grrr my neighbor killed my landscaping!!!

    I just bought this house last fall and it has a nice privacy fence with ivy that grows on it. It's very pretty and the ivy adds a nice touch to a small yard, imo. Well, I got home from work today and noticed that all of the ivy on my fence is DEAD! I'm so pissed it's not even funny. It's all blotchy and cut to shreds, there's no hope for it at all. The worst part is that it's dead along the back fence (the one I'm always facing when I'm on my deck) and not the sides! It's going to take years for that to stretch back across the fence.
     
    The neighbors (who I haven't even met yet) could have just asked me to trim it back if it was growing on their yard. Instead they chopped it up and threw it over the fence Grrr! What A-holes. Check out these pics! (sorry they're kinda blurry) The first is my side yard where it isn't dead, the 2nd is where they killed it.
     
    I'm going to go over there tomorrow (doesn't look like they're home now) and give them a piece of my mind.
     
     
     



    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog
    OMG, they chopped it and chucked it over your fence!!!!!  I'm flabbergasted! 
    • Gold Top Dog
    ok,  I am sorry, but this really crosses a line.  First of all, there was a way to cut it on their side without damaging it on YOUR side.  Second of all, HOW DARE THEY throw it into YOUR yard???  THEY cut it!!! So, not only did they ruin your landscaping, but they expect YOU to clean it up?
     
    I'm sorry, but as someone who really works hard on the outdoor appearance of my little patch of earth, this really gets me steamed.
     
    Of course, it IS a weekday, which makes me wonder if they didn't just hire a bunch of illegals to do the landscaping work for them, which would explain a lot.
     
    I would go and talk to them.  IF they hired someone, they need to know not to hire them again.  If THEY did it, they need to know not to do it again.  If they did it, I say throw it back.
    • Gold Top Dog
    OMG, they chopped it and chucked it over your fence!!!!! I'm flabbergasted!


    This si exactly my thought Paige.. I don't even know what to say here.. I am sure you were devastated when you got home.. just in total shock![:o]

    looks like it is time to meet the neighbors... maybe you can bake a pie... being all neighborly and all [:)].. what you chose to DO with the pie would be your choice![;)]
    • Gold Top Dog
    WHAT?!??!  OK, fences typically are not built *right* at the property line, they're usually a foot or more in, SO even if those ivies were rooted on the OTHER side of that fence, that's still your ivy!!!  If they don't want to look at it, they can put up their own fence or a line of shrubs within THEIR side of the line!!  I've heard of people suing for less than that (an acquaintance cut down a tree that was within the survey line of his property, but the neighbor insisted that they survey was incorrect and he'd cut down her tree, so he's being sued), but plant growth like that takes years to develop and is essentially priceless.  I'd be so tempted to get in their yard, rip out some of their flowers and just toss them in the yard.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I'm just seeing red right now! I don't even know what to do.  To think that I have to look at that everytime I'm outside - which is pretty much every minute I'm home!!!!
     
    *deep breaths*
     
    So, if you were in my shoes - besides doing harm to the neighbor - do you think I should just scrap it and cut it all off? I tried to clean it up a bit and "re-string" it across the top of the fence but that just made it worse. I don't even know what to do with it. I'm not even close to being a gardner.  Maybe some green thumb will come in here and give me some advice. Since it's only June, will it grow back? And how do I get it to grow back? I know that I should have thinned it out this winter but this being my first season in the house I was waiting to see how all of my plants grew before doing anything...
     
    Grrrr..soooooooooooooooooooo pissed.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I would toss it right back over the damn fence!  Then I'd go over there and ask what made them think they could just destroy someone ELSE'S property.  Then I'd tell them I expect a reimbursement so as to purchase new ivy cuttings and start over.
    • Gold Top Dog
    That looks like borderline ( or outright) vandalism to me! I would be soooooo peeeved! If it was bothering them they should have asked you.It looks like they cut way more than they had a right to either way.
    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog
    If the ivy is on your property - ie, rooted on your land, then they damaged your property and are obligated to pay for repairs. To me, that means hiring a landscape professional to consult on fixing it.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Just a question.  Whose fence is it and where is the property line in relation to the roots of the plant.  You really need to know before confronting them.  From the looks of it the previous owner of your property didn't plant the ivy since it is growing from the other side of the fence.
     
     
     
    • Gold Top Dog
    wow. you had a really nice fence, that ivy was gorgeous....
     
    i wouldnt do anything mean back, i mean they are still your neighbours right? so unless you are prepared for a potential all out war, then i wouldnt do an awful lot. i would figure out if the fence is indeed totally on your property first. then i would bake them a pie or something nice and summery and take it over and introduce yourself, act the like friendly neighbour, then get talking with them, and bring up gardening in your conversation, then tell them how you just are so confused at what happened to all your ivy! see what they say and take it from there, ask if they saw anyone out of the ordinary or something around your fence.
     
    other than that i would just let it go, if the fence is indeed totally on your property, then i would make that known to them, in a friendly way of course[;)]
    • Gold Top Dog
    Remember one other very important thing.  You have dogs that I'm sure they ;play in the back yard.  I wouldn't tick off the neighbors and start a war as they could really make your life hell with Animal Control.
     
    Get some Ivy and plant it on your side.  Keep it trimmed so it doesn't grow over the top.
     
     
    • Gold Top Dog
    which side is it rooted on?  that's the most important thing.  if it's rooted on your side, it WILL grow back.  ivy is essentially like weeds, and in the growing season (now), it grows like crazy.  it won't be as lush as it was, but it WILL grow back.  that's if it's rooted on your side and they didn't rip out the roots.
     
    if it's rooted on their side and they ripped up the roots- not a chance.  just throw the scraps back over the fence into their yard and go to home depot or a local nursery and get some ivy to root on your side.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Well, I just went over and knocked on the door. Turns out it is a single woman (an attorney - go figure) who hired a landscaping company that did that today. The privacy fence is on my property and she has a rose climbing type wire fence on her side. She asked them to get the ivy out of her wire fence but they went a little too crazy.
     
    I approached it by introducing myself and told her that I noticed that she cut the ivy back today and said "please ask me next time to trim it back because it's now dead on my side. I would have been happy to trim it back had I known it was a problem". She was shocked and invited me in, and we went out to look at it. Since the leaves are sort of wilted and dying she suggested that the company may have sprayed the ivy with something. So she called and left them a message to call her back. She is going to let me know if they sprayed anything (concerned about my animals). She also offered to pay for new plantings and apologized. I said to forget it but asked that she get the landscape company to come clean up the mess. Hopefully this'll be done tomorrow.
     
    I feel much better now. I guess I'll just cut all the dead stuff back and trim the other sides while I'm at it.
    • Gold Top Dog
    awwww... well isn't THAT a happy ending.. and if you wouldn't mind providing me with a close-up pic of the leaves, i can try to identify whether or not it's even worht replacing.