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PLANT RANT

iLander

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
6,731
Here's the story; I was out in my yard, telling the yard guys to take out this tree/bush/overgrown monstrosity. It's about 15 feet tall and 15 feet wide, and it grows so fast that if I don't take it out, it will eat my yard. Actually, I've lost a huge area of my yard to it, and it's encroaching on my fruit trees which aren't producing because of the shade.

So, I am telling the yard men to take it all out pretty loudly, repeating it often, since they only sort of understand. After a while, I think they have it figured out, and I go inside.

My phone rings and it's my rear neighbor, who I've met once, while searching for my cat. I gave her my number long ago for emergency use when we were going out of town.

Her: I couldn't help overhearing that you're taking out (that tree-I'm not naming it, it's pretty distinctive to my area, which I don't want to disclose) and I'm hoping it won't cause a problem with my privacy.

Me: Well, I don't think it will, you have a huge buffer. Also, it's well within my property line, easily ten feet from the line.

(There is a huge buffer between our properties, I can't actually see her house, it's so covered with her vegetation which she never mows or trims in any way. As a side note, she has poison ivy that has covered and killed 20 foot trees in her yard. There are 3 bare trunks in her yard covered with nothing but poison ivy)

Then she spent about 20 minutes telling me how my tree gives her privacy. I explain that if she wants privacy, she can plant one of these trees and it will grow full size in less that a year (I'm not kidding, she's new and doesn't know the plants here), that her yard has a ton of trees and that no one can see past her 20 foot tall buffer anyway. And that it's in my yard. Completely within my yard (and within my rights, but I don't say that)!

So this whole thing has ticked me off, because I purchased my land specifically because it was NOT within a homeowner's association. My old neighborhood had a homeowner's and they were worried about people leaving their garages open, and I can't handle that. I can do whatever I want within my boundaries. I don't want anyone sticking their nose into my business, and if I didn't respect her property rights I would have reported the invasive plant (which is banned here and she can be fined for) which covers her entire back yard and that I have to keep beating back from my side. But I figure it's her property, if she (and the prior owners) choose to let it grow on their land, it's not my business.

I would never make a phone call to tell people, for 20 long minutes, what they can and can't do on their own property. Whatever happened to "mind your own business"?!!

Rant over. :|
 

centralsquare

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
2,216
That's pretty annoying...someone so worried about privacy is eavesdropping on your conversation. A bit ironic. I'd cut that tree down asap.
 

TooPatient

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 1, 2009
Messages
10,295
I'm a bit crabby today so it might be a bit of an over-reaction but --- cut the tree down and tell her to mind her own d*** business if she so much as looks into your yard while it is being removed. Today, I'd probably personally grab a chainsaw and start the removal myself... after making sure she was home to watch.

My rational side says that a more productive thing to do is to go over and talk with her. Explain why you don't like having that tree where it is, what it is doing to your fruit trees, etc. Then offer to help her pick out a tree to plant in her yard to help maximize her privacy -- maybe she'd even consider something like a row of fruit trees or bushes the entire length of her property line.
 

iheartscience

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Messages
12,111
Wow, that takes some nerve! You were nicer than I would have been...I would have cut her off about 2 minutes in to the rant! What an idiot!
 

AmeliaG

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 8, 2011
Messages
880
Just cut the damn thing down. Like you said, you're not obligated to provide her privacy. I have no patience with people like your neighbor.
 

LGK

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 27, 2007
Messages
2,975
AmeliaG|1313601890|2992674 said:
Just cut the damn thing down. Like you said, you're not obligated to provide her privacy. I have no patience with people like your neighbor.
For real. I'd have gotten fed up about 2 minutes into that convo! Geez. Extraordinarily annoying.

Homeowners associations can be mind blowingly frustrating, I imagine it's a huge relief to be away from one, iLander! I recall one that sprung up around the home DH grew up in (i.e., the home was there long before the neighborhood and it's association came along) and they regularly fined DH's family for not having a pretty enough yard for the rest of the neighborhood. Not that it was wild or completely ignored, mind you- just not posh enough to please the homeowner's association. They wanted more flowers and professional landscaping, not a few plain juniper bushes and some beauty bark. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Anyway yeah, cut that sucker down and I bet the neighbor won't even notice it right away if she's tucked away in her little jungle there.
 

dragonfly411

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
7,378
My property, my choice. Your property, your choice. This is why I'll never live in a neighborhood. Cut the damn thing down. I'd send her a baby one as a gift come Christmas. Complete with a bow. Leave it on her doorstep.
 

Amys Bling

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
11,025
Ewe. Stand your groindnow or she will think she has a right to infringe upon you.
 

iLander

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
6,731
centralsquare|1313596242|2992621 said:
That's pretty annoying...someone so worried about privacy is eavesdropping on your conversation. A bit ironic. I'd cut that tree down asap.

I know, right?

TooPatient said:
I'm a bit crabby today so it might be a bit of an over-reaction but --- cut the tree down and tell her to mind her own d*** business if she so much as looks into your yard while it is being removed. Today, I'd probably personally grab a chainsaw and start the removal myself... after making sure she was home to watch.

My rational side says that a more productive thing to do is to go over and talk with her. Explain why you don't like having that tree where it is, what it is doing to your fruit trees, etc. Then offer to help her pick out a tree to plant in her yard to help maximize her privacy -- maybe she'd even consider something like a row of fruit trees or bushes the entire length of her property line.

No, not an over-reaction. After I hung up, I realized that I told her she could plant one in her yard, but there is NO room. You literally cannot walk through her yard, it is so thick with vegetation (all junk and weeds). It is a solid wall.

thing2of2 said:
Wow, that takes some nerve! You were nicer than I would have been...I would have cut her off about 2 minutes in to the rant! What an idiot!

See, that was what I was thinking! Who would make that kind of phone call?

AmeliaG said:
Just cut the damn thing down. Like you said, you're not obligated to provide her privacy. I have no patience with people like your neighbor.

I'm starting to think I am too polite to people . . . :rolleyes:

LGK said:
AmeliaG|1313601890|2992674 said:
Just cut the damn thing down. Like you said, you're not obligated to provide her privacy. I have no patience with people like your neighbor.
For real. I'd have gotten fed up about 2 minutes into that convo! Geez. Extraordinarily annoying.

Homeowners associations can be mind blowingly frustrating, I imagine it's a huge relief to be away from one, iLander! I recall one that sprung up around the home DH grew up in (i.e., the home was there long before the neighborhood and it's association came along) and they regularly fined DH's family for not having a pretty enough yard for the rest of the neighborhood. Not that it was wild or completely ignored, mind you- just not posh enough to please the homeowner's association. They wanted more flowers and professional landscaping, not a few plain juniper bushes and some beauty bark. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Anyway yeah, cut that sucker down and I bet the neighbor won't even notice it right away if she's tucked away in her little jungle there.

That makes me feel bad for your DH's family. Can they legally do that? If they were there first? I don't think they can, if you don't sign their homeowner's papers, I don't think you have to follow any of their rules. HOA are a pain in the . . . !

dragonfly411 said:
My property, my choice. Your property, your choice. This is why I'll never live in a neighborhood. Cut the damn thing down. I'd send her a baby one as a gift come Christmas. Complete with a bow. Leave it on her doorstep.

Exactly this.

Amys Bling said:
Ewe. Stand your groindnow or she will think she has a right to infringe upon you.

I agree, some people seem to think they own everything around them. And I've been here for years longer than her (she's just a few months in) and I don't feel like I can tell people what to do!
 

tyty333

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Dec 17, 2008
Messages
27,198
Wow...the nerve of some people! You were nice not to say "Go grow your own damn tree!".
 

iLander

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
6,731
Just to let everyone know, the tree is halfway cut, with most of it done while she was on the phone with me, gabbing.

When the yards guys come back, I will have to tell them again to remove the whole thing. I think they thought I was saying to trim it. They speak only Spanish, I only speak English (when I came to this country, my whole family learned English asap, it was a huge deal for us, but that's a whole other rant). It's going to take a while to get this across.

It's about half gone, and it's as I suspected; you cannot see her house at all. At. All.

My late MIL used to say that some people think "what's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine". I know what she means now.

I am crabby today, wandering around the house muttering to myself. Sorry if I ruined anybody's mood . . . :|
 

iLander

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
6,731
tyty333|1313616252|2992839 said:
Wow...the nerve of some people! You were nice not to say "Go grow your own damn tree!".

I know, right? Sometimes I think I am too polite!
 

dragonfly411

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
7,378
iLander|1313616780|2992846 said:
tyty333|1313616252|2992839 said:
Wow...the nerve of some people! You were nice not to say "Go grow your own damn tree!".

I know, right? Sometimes I think I am too polite!

You are. ;))

As to the workers, you might have to go out and mime cutting the trunk with an ax lol!
 

lliang_chi

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
3,740
Hey iLander, try Google Translate to print out work instructions. Or maybe some great PS'er can help you translate your work instructions. My parents kind of had the same issue when they started their orchard. No Spanish speaking skills at all. But my mom tried to pick up some vocabulary. She can string together small words to get her point across.
 

gardengloves

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Oct 21, 2009
Messages
1,116
I'm with you Ilander, please do what you need to do.

If she needs additional buffer zone, she can plant,and it will grow.

I have open field behind my house, very picturesque, but if the owner ever decides to sell and privacy becomes an issue, I would plant hedge row, adapt and make arrangements for privacy-
 

TristanC

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jun 6, 2011
Messages
995
Erm, aren't you the one that put up with the out of town freeloaders?

You are Waaaay too nice to people.

I would have said that i was cutting it down, as it was on my property. And told her to grow one herself if she wanted one. Then hung up, as I have better things to do. 1min conversation. Done.

Hope you get past any internal ill feelings. You shouldn't fume about it.
 

centralsquare

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
2,216
dragonfly411|1313607301|2992735 said:
My property, my choice. Your property, your choice. This is why I'll never live in a neighborhood. Cut the damn thing down. I'd send her a baby one as a gift come Christmas. Complete with a bow. Leave it on her doorstep.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
 

iLander

Ideal_Rock
Joined
May 23, 2010
Messages
6,731
TristanC|1313635648|2993087 said:
Erm, aren't you the one that put up with the out of town freeloaders?

You are Waaaay too nice to people.

I would have said that i was cutting it down, as it was on my property. And told her to grow one herself if she wanted one. Then hung up, as I have better things to do. 1min conversation. Done.

Hope you get past any internal ill feelings. You shouldn't fume about it.

Yes, that was me :oops:

I am no longer fuming, this thread helped me realize that I shouldn't feel guilty about cutting this thing. It's about half way gone now.

I guess I just don't get why people are just so thoughtless and rude? I think it's just so low-class to be that way, it makes a person appear trashy and inferior, IMHO. I've always thought of the hostess who drank out of her finger bowl because her dinner guest did. It would be the height of rudeness to make the guest feel awkward or odd about drinking from the finger bowl, so the hostess does it too. That's how I live my life.

Unfortunately, it appears that others are bathing in the finger bowl, swimming in it, reveling in it! I may have to become one of those people that says "Excuse me, that's a finger bowl", just to avoid being steam rolled by the masses!

Sigh . . . :rolleyes:
 

AmeliaG

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Jan 8, 2011
Messages
880
I don't think you were too polite here. You told her it was your property and you cut the tree down.

Some people think they are entitled to everything - unfortunately, some of them happen to be neighbors. :rolleyes:
 

pregcurious

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 18, 2009
Messages
6,724
I would be very annoyed also. I probably would have suggested in the most neutral tone I could muster that she build a fence.
 

jewelerman

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
3,107
i would have told her that i would love to talk but that i was in the middle of cutting down the tree and didn't have the time for a chat. done.
 
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