Have just moved to new house & the fence bewtween me & neighbour is very shabby on its last legs?

Question

Neighbour has stated for last 6 mths that it will be done, I wanna know what is a cost effective hedge that I can plant to sort this problem out.

Answer 1

I had a problem that was much like yours. I planted a Pivet hedge
(sorry that may not be spelled right,) but a nursey will know what your talking about. The hedge grows pretty quick so it won't take long to hide the nasty fence. I did it because I couldn't stand looking at my neighbor's weed patch of a flower garden.

Answer 2

No one is compelled to have a boundary fence only to ensure that the kids, dogs, balls etc don't go onto the adjoining property. Exceptionally there may be some thing called a positive covenant which requires a person to actually do some thing, like maintaining a fence, as opposed to simply not doing things. If you've purchased the property this is something your solicitor can or should explain for you. The law on excessive light blocking hedges only applies to evergreens with rules about how continuous the hedge run is etc. Therefore you can erect a fence or plant a hedge on your side, how about some thing solid at the base for a few feet to stop your, if any, kids, dogs, balls etc. then a trellis top with rambling roses, clematis or similar. If you are worried about security and or not bothered at seeing the neighbours some prickly plants, holly, berberis, berberis juliana has really lethal prickles, grows fairly quickly and can be pruned hard - from personal experience,laurel - can be cut back hard to bare stems and resprouts,, mahonia are all useful. Leylandi can be OK if you tame it early by pruning, a clipped one looks good but don't try pruning an old established leylandi all you'll get is brown bare branches, as a broad principle if you can resist the temptation or need to buy large bushes, buy young ones, they'll get established with a good root system and catch up and overtake bigger ones. Hedges are greedy feeders and will starve the soil on both side, think carefully. Ironically a trellis top to a fence is as good a security as a dense fence or wall, villains wont like climbing a trellis which will give way under them whereas once a wall or high fence has been scaled the villain can't be see by people who might raise the alarm for you.

Answer 3

Any hedge you plant has to be planted well back of the property line (there are rules to how far that differ in each area). And once it is planted it can not be allowed to grow wild. There are height restrictions.

Your better bet would be to get together with your neighbour to figure out when it would be convenient for both of you to work on replacing the fence. Then go out to buy the materials together, each paying half. That way the fence belongs to both of you (as it should be) and you are equally responsible for it's upkeep.

You should never start out living in a new neighbourhood in an adversarial confrontation with a neighbour. Cooperate now and set the tone for how you will treat each other in the future.

Answer 4

Fences are a bit stark and a privet hedge would certainly solve the situation but a good hedge needs to knit together and be pruned into shape over several seasons no matter the size,type or cost of the plants.Ask your neighbour again and explain your concerns it may be prudent,even beneficial to assist with a one of payment towards the cost.Perhaps you could offer to help repair the fence before planting as a security measure for yourself there are no straight answers here I'm afraid.
personally I got fed up of waiting for my neighbour as well.I tore down the broken fence trying to leave the posts intact where possible and replaced the panels with trellis,screwing them to the remaining posts and where they were missing I strengthened the Trellis by knocking in a length of wood and fixing them to that.For security I planted a series of thorned climbing shrubs with enough space for them to grow and become a living fence I also planted Honeysuckle,clematis,flowering hops and sweet peas to fill the gaps and as a visual deterant.I now have a fence that's extremely sturdy, wildlife friendly attracting butterflies and feeding birds it offers colour and structure to the garden that's easily maintained.The bonus is that it takes up no room at all and it makes the garden look bigger my neighbour was impressed as well buying me a few climbers to add to the 120ft length plus a few shrubs and bushes for his own side.

Answer 5

Hello,

With-out seeing your garden or knowing the age of your neighbour, the first thought that came to mind is this:

"What if you had no fence and no hedge at all?" What if you suggested to your neighbour that the fence isn't serving any purpose, and doesn't look very nice. You would like to try having no fence between you, and remove the fence all together?

This would be a solution of simply removing the problem.

Then, you would not have the expense of purchasing hedge plants, and you wouldn't have to add to your time of maintaining them, either.

You would also have the appearance of more open space, and it would make keeping the lawn tidy a simple task.

I am interested to know what you decide for a solution. :o)

Answer 6

Potentially a tricky one. If your neighbour is not interested in keeping his fence tidy, he is hardly likely to want the bother of keeping his side of a hedge tidy either. An alternative to sharing the cost of a new fence is to plant some fast-growing privet hedge clippings from other neighbours' hedges (or firends and family) on your side of the hedge, to disguise the mess; until such times as your neighbour renews his fence.
Personally, I prefer hedges, so that the birds have somewhere to shelter.

Answer 7

Speak to your neighbour, as you will spend a fortune on hedges. You may as well put new fencing up yourself.

The only way to do it with Hedges is to buy mature ones = Expensive.

Or

Fast growing younger plants, this fast growing is great & cheap, but you have to keep on top of the pruning as it is now illegal to have high hedges & plants in the UK that block out neighbours light.

Check with the local Nursery but speaking to your neighbour is the first port of call. Remember usually you are only responsible for one fence (Are you sure that this fence is your neighbour responsibility & not yours?)

Answer 8

We're in the same position. We've decided to put up trellis panels next to the neighbour's grotty fence and grow climbers up it - a mixture of rambling roses and clematis. It's not ideal, but is cheaper than getting a lot of mature hedging plants - and the lovely ones like Box and Yew are expensive - and if the neighbours do get round to replacing it, we can tilt away the trellis when the new fence is installed, then train the plants over the new one.

If you did decide to go for Box, a good supplier is Langley Boxwood nursery - not the cheapest but good plants. http://www.boxwood.co.uk/

Crocus have a good guide to hedging plants on their website. http://www.crocus.co.uk/findplant2/finderhedges/

I've got no links with either company!

Answer 9

I suppose we can assume that the fence is your neighbours responsibility?? If the fence post are on your side then it is if not then its yours...if they are in the middle..check with your house deeds to clarify the point...

I think it is really good that your neighbour has promised to get it fixed..but what if he was to put up something that was in good order but to your dislike??chain link fencing.

Have you yourself had a qote for the job....it is expensive...if you were to do this it would give you an idea as to whether its in your budget..if its not then why should your neighbour make things pretty at his expense...if its not at risk of falling over and damaging you or your property then he really has his own rights in this matter...He might actually like it???

You could ask your solicitor if there had been any mention of a dispute over the fencing prior to purchase..as this has to be declared by the person who is selling to you.

Now onto your proposed remedy....a hedge....quite expensive to plant....attractive to the eye.....labour intensive to maintain.....

I personally would talk to the neighbour...ask if I could put new fencing up....at my own cost.....it would be his fence in the end...but you would have a good relationship at the end of it...perhaps you could both put it up yourself...share the labour...if you could encourage this with your neighbour....it might encourage them to care for it in the long run.

BUT what ever you do do not remove it without talking to them...if its their fence you could be sued.

Or why not put up another fence in line with theirs..a temporary one...willow screens....and then plant climbers..and shrubs...far more enjoyable than pruning a hedge....

Good luck but I really think its more important to have friendly neighbours as I am sure you are aware.

Answer 10

This depends on where you live. Privet will grow quickly in temperate zones, but will require trimming at least once per year. Box is nice, but it may be short and it also requires trimming. If you are in a warmer growing zone, hibiscus makes a lovely hedge with no trimming. (Hardy hibiscus makes a good hedge in temperate zones, but it takes most of the summer to reach its full growth each year.) Bougainvillea (tropical), honeysuckle, Clematis paniculata, or Fallopia (Silver Lace vine) trained up on the nasty fence would also work.