Neighbour Is Annoyed Small Flower Buds Are Dropping on Her Front Garden

stwongy on 28/11/2022 - 14:38
Last edited 28/11/2022 - 14:46 by 1 other user

Look, I'm not really looking for a solution (more here to rant) but I'm open to suggestions, thoughts and ideas.

Basically as LUDICROUS AS IT SOUNDS - this absolute dear of an old neighbour banged on my window from her side, with her MOP to get my attention— as I was enjoying my day off in the kitchen listening to music. She's been bothering my Mum the past few years about it too but since I've gotten older, she's decided it's time to annoy me about it too. So I asked her, "what's the problem?", as I thought, it surely must've been that my music was too loud, or she could hear my off-key singing.

NOPE. That wasn't it, so I looked at her to give her concern some respect, and I could feel her bloodshot crazy eyes stare through my soul as she went off about how every 3 months the branches on our front tree become a HUGE problem because, leaves fall into her front yard… or better yet, SMALL BUD FLOWERS.

I literally went outside later today after shutting all the blinds to the windows on her side, so we can neither see each other and so I can prevent her disturbing my peace in my own house, on my day off. The branches do not even REACH to her side, its literally just budding flowers for new leaves. It's honestly absolutely ludicrous.

Now how to remedy the solution? The quickest way is to obviously buy an electric saw, cut some branches down so we don't have to deal with this neighbour. But honestly, it shouldn't be something we need to do, or pay for, as the tree is causing absolutely no physical obstruction or safety issues. It's just them being an absolute nut.

What's your opinion OzBargainers and OzBargain solicitor reps?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Logical on 29/11/2022 - 12:09
    +1

    I am going through a similar thing… the back neighbour has a rather large tree that drops pollen and tiny like flowers into my backyard and onto my multipurpose court. Before we can go and play I have to spend around 15 minutes blowing the crap off, collecting it and throwing it over the fence. Apart from the inconvenience of lost time in cleaning, it is also staining my court surface and clogging up my stormwater drains.

    • ihbh on 29/11/2022 - 16:47

      throwing it over the fence

      Glad you like it and are composting the tree to grow more vigorously and drop even more pollen.

      • Logical on 29/11/2022 - 23:42

        That is true…. except that I blow all the stuff to one side of the court then tip it over nearer to the corner of the blocks of land, some 15 meters away from the tree. The tree is around 12 meters tall, the canopy is about 4m radius, so I would hope the roots wouldn't go as far as 15 meters from the trunk….. but never know. Will need to check this out.

  • Spending2Much on 29/11/2022 - 12:26
    +2

    Sounds exactly like my neighbour. My rose petals from my gorgeous roses blew off one day on an extremely strong windy day….I got the same knock on the door, complaining about that.
    Then, shortly after, went to work one day, came home, all my roses had been butchered and cut down.

    Yeah, old people are crazy and unfortunately, she's still the neighbour.

    I get complaints, about the time my roller door on garage goes up and down, I'm a shift worker.
    About not being my bin on off the street till the day after bin day, I'm a shift worker.

    So yeah, I don't feel sorry for her anymore unfortunately

  • preferredusername on 29/11/2022 - 12:29
    +4

    Totally unhelpful but my mum had a similar complaint from her neighbour regarding some trees that were on the fence line. Occasionally leaves would get blown onto the neighbour's driveway and she didn't like sweeping them up. My mum ended up cutting the trees down entirely… and then the neighbour complained she would miss the shade/privacy screening lol.

  • jacross on 29/11/2022 - 12:39
    +2

    I get you are trying to make your rant comical but to be honest I'm just glad I don't live next to either of you.

  • nekro on 29/11/2022 - 13:15

    Call the bikies

  • HangryCakeStore on 29/11/2022 - 15:04
    -5

    You know exactly these type of entitled people that always complain about all the small things are the same bogans that complain when the prime minister was overseas during flood, they always looking for cash handouts pffft, the exact kind of people complaining about refugees needing support
    If you that mindset you’re just as pathetic.

    • surg3on on 30/11/2022 - 14:49
      +2

      Drawing a pretty long bow there man.

    • Willy Beamish on 01/12/2022 - 18:09
      -1

      It's not just bogans looking for a handout, people of all walks of life trying to claim flood money regardless of how they were impacted.

      How do I know? I've seen the applications first hand, people trying to claim $20k grants for a chipped floor and a bit of water on their hardwood floors. That does not make your house uninhabitable, why would they think they can get a 20k pay-out for that…

      People from brand new houses to people that have nothing, not just bogans.

      FYI, majority of fraudulent claims that I've seen are from immigrants not "bogans"

      • HangryCakeStore on 01/12/2022 - 19:00

        Majority would be bogans, immigrants are made to believe they are lucky to get in here so they tough it out, you ever watch news during Covid vaccines? it’s always bogus hobos protesting and complaining about everything like trump wingers

        • Willy Beamish on 01/12/2022 - 23:52

          I'm telling you as someone that handles personally the flood grants, but your uneducated facebook comment opinion knows more than I do apparently.

        • Willy Beamish on 02/12/2022 - 16:29

          Just dealt with someone living in a 3mil + house that tried to claim a flood grant that is for people living in uninhabitable homes, he had water stains on his 3 million + house…. man what a bogan that was.

          • HangryCakeStore on 02/12/2022 - 17:57
            -1

            @Willy Beamish: Yea rich bogans, don’t get me started on those so many living their established easy lives on the coast that will bet most didn’t get rich legally but got away with it cause money speaks, where theirs lots money there’s gonna be coverup to people paid to stutup. As for your comment bogan Farmers always looking for donations while underpaying immigrant picker,
            You starting to see the pattern?

  • Unacceptable on 29/11/2022 - 15:27

    It reminds me of how lucky I am having such an ignorant neighbour next door.
    My large pine tree needles constantly falling off onto the neighbour's roof gutters and even some weeds are growing there with flowers - the soil must be composted. They never say anything about it (nor cleaning the gutters). I felt so sorry so the other day I knocked on their door and gave them a set of Moconna coffees as a gift.

  • djones145 on 29/11/2022 - 15:40
    +2

    ACA
    ally needs stories like this

  • ihbh on 29/11/2022 - 16:45

    Laws differ by state. E.g. in NSW it's up to her to cut overhanging branches, etc. In Qld owner of tree is responsible. E.g. leaves from your tree fell into her gutter, you are responsible. There are initial rego fees for going to mediation, etc, so even this can be expensive.

  • Dose Pipe Sutututu on 29/11/2022 - 16:49

    Going to make assumptions here, but she does fit the typical "Karen" profile…
    You're not going to win with her, cut down the branch/tree and she'll complain about something else.

    You did say she's old… not long to go then.

  • Redddy on 29/11/2022 - 17:15

    Copper nails driven into the tree are said to prevent some trees flowering. You could glue a few old pennies high on the tree and say the tree will never flower after this season and that it was a difficult decision as you were going to use the tree for breeding but you decided the tree needed to be fixed….

  • lemonboy308 on 29/11/2022 - 18:02

    Roll some up, and smoke those flower bud problems away.

  • Ramrunner on 29/11/2022 - 18:43

    To be fair I got annoyed at my neighbour (even though we still stayed friendly - so more inwardly annoyed) when his trees dropped honkey nuts all over the place. Not on my property physically, but then he'd mow the lawn without a catcher and they would fling and hit my walls, windows and roof constantly and were all over my patio.

    Also we share a fenceline and he has his sprinklers too close to the fence and the bore water hits our cars when we drive down the driveway.

    Not the same thing I guess, but I do get annoyed when the simple fact is the causes of my annoyances aren't caused by me they're caused by my neighbour.

    Crap all over my patio and stained cars (unless we wash them constantly).

    Yes we've mentioned it a few times and it gets treated like it's funny (make a joke out of it) but nothing is done.

    TLDR

    It would be nice if the OP would do something in flowering season to keep essentially her flowers off her neighbour's lawn. Instead I hear her naighbour is "ludicrous" and "crazy nut". Just seems like those flowers would be annoying to have to clean up all the time and could be remedied by OP being a friendly neighbour. I'm actually disappointed at the rant.

    But yeah, like in my case I would just get on with it, but it isn't as one sided as it sounds to me.

  • YellowDieselGolf on 29/11/2022 - 19:39
    +1

    I’d start with Seasol.

    • surg3on on 30/11/2022 - 14:50

      Its what plants crave

  • iguana on 29/11/2022 - 20:35
    +3

    My neighbour has a tree that dumps all kind of shit on my driveway. After a big storm its full of debris and even after a windy night it drops crap all over my car. Most days I wake up to find my car covered in various plant matter. I'd be ecstatic if only a few flowers were left on my front lawn.

    • Logical on 29/11/2022 - 23:47

      You are not doing anything about it? Sounds like you are accepting of damage to your property.

      • nwa on 30/11/2022 - 09:24
        +2

        You can't do much about it except chop the branches on your side of the boundary.

    • Brianqpr on 30/11/2022 - 11:26
      +1

      I have a similar situation with a big gum tree in a neighbour's garden. Bark everywhere recently whenever its a bit windy, but the branches don't overhang as such so probably nothing I can do other than mutter swearwords while clearing it up each time.

  • mr_vino89 on 30/11/2022 - 09:39

    Do you own the house or your mum? If you don't own it then it's not your problem :)

  • BeamMeUp on 30/11/2022 - 10:06
    +1

    Look at her with glazed eyes, yawn, shrug your shoulders, say nothing, walk away. Each time she whinges, repeat.

  • xdigger on 30/11/2022 - 11:15

    Does it matter if the neighbour has grown creeper plants on their side of the fence which has grown roots and branches into our wooden fence separating the two properties, and it looks like the fence may collapse in a year or so from the weight of the creeper plants from their side? Can I get the neighbour to pay 100% of the fence replacement? Spoken to him once and he brushed it off.

    Will council do anything?

  • Heaps for Cheaps on 30/11/2022 - 12:13

    It could be a case of hysteria. Call out Doctors-on-Call to have her treated.

  • RolandWaites on 30/11/2022 - 12:21
    +1

    Have you considered conscripting the aid of outlaw motorcycle gangs?

  • UFO on 30/11/2022 - 14:31
    -3

    When you're talking about 'legal rights' it works both ways.

    It's your legal right to not do anything about the mess your tree is making.
    It's her legal right to return all rubbish the tree is making to your property.

    Maybe instead of concerning yourself with only the legal rights, how about being a good neighbour.

    Yes, it's an easy win and you shouldn't have to do anything. But it's such a small issue (like every neighbourhood dispute is). You aren't being a "punk" or "whimping out". If you've got a tree that makes mess at certain times of the year, go over there every now and again and sweep it up for those few months.
    It is afterall your mess. And Old Biddy has absolutely nothing to do all day than walk to her letterbox and stress out over the mess the tree is making.

    Hitting your window with a mop? Carrying on like a turkey? Ok… she's nuts. But really, what are you going to win here by asserting your rights? Teach her something? That's not possible.

  • Daddy Chill on 30/11/2022 - 15:30
    +2

    She's old so don't pay attention to her and don't let it bother you. Just ignore her she will give up

    • playerzer2 on 30/11/2022 - 15:44
      +3

      If you ignore her long enough, she'll do the BIG give-up

      • Hangryuman on 30/11/2022 - 15:51
        +2

        I read an article about DJT - saying if we ignore him he will HATE that - as with typical bullies and narcissists.

        So yeah - don't answer the door, don't respond to her, and she will probably stop banging your window - eventually … :-(

  • [Deactivated] on 30/11/2022 - 16:11
    +1

    Banging on the window with a mop rather than knocking on the front door is just being a pig. She's one of those miserable people who will always find something to whine about. If you fix this a month from now it will be something else.

    I live in a narrow street. I used to get annoyed at people parking on the grass in front of my house. Then one day I thought, "WHY does it irritate me!?" Ok, they're killing the grass, but that means less grass I have to mow. So WHO CARES!"

    You could buy her one of those cheap plastic rakes and/or the book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff."

    I'd also consider sticking bright silver adhesive vinyl or tint onto your windows… So whenever she walks past or looks out one of her windows, the sun reflects into her house/eyes. (May as well give her something real to whine about, so she realises how good she had it before opening her big mouth over nothing.)

    Or just completely ignore it until she brings it up again. Then say: "Oh ok, thanks for letting me know" and go back to doing nothing about it. Do the same thing as many times as she brings it up. "Thanks for reminding me. I'll get right on that." When she finally says something like, "So what are you going to do about it?" Pause, scratch your chin like you're thinking, then shrug and say: "Hm… Nothing I guess." and walk away.

    She'll fume for months over less than nothing while you just brush it off.

  • gorgeous5 on 30/11/2022 - 22:44

    Sounds like she needs a friend or someone to talk to. How about asking her what a good solution is? Take her over a Christmas gift for being neighbourly. Find out more about her and her life.

    • Heaps for Cheaps on 01/12/2022 - 09:43

      Ummm, you can come around and be her friend.

      In the real world, the neighbour would see OP as a pushover and she will further harass and abuse the OP's friendliness.

      There's a reason the old woman is alone with no friends, she's an awful person.

      • gorgeous5 on 01/12/2022 - 10:48
        +1

        Lol, awful person for complaining every few months about flowers?! Everyone is looking for a reason to be offended these days it seems.

        • Heaps for Cheaps on 01/12/2022 - 11:01

          Apologies for offending you.
          You have to stop romanticise the situation… The reality is the old bat is nuts and OP doesn't want anything to do with her.

  • jakepods on 30/11/2022 - 22:58
    +2

    knock her out. show her whose boss

  • ssfps on 01/12/2022 - 00:44

    The sane course of action would be to rake up all the leaves and flower buds you can and carpet her yard/porch in them, every day off.

  • ShannonN on 01/12/2022 - 05:03
    -2

    Have you ever thought that old people esp. those without family take great pride in their house, yard gardens, flowers, clean symmetrical pathways etc.

    Sometimes its all they have. Have you bothered to ask why the small buds that blows into her yard concern her? She may say it spoils the clean look as I mention above or on a more serious note.

    She may get scared of slipping on these buds and breaking her hip and be hospitalised, immobilised etc.

    Would it be so hard or inconvenient to just trim the branches, surely you can't be that weak (strength wise) you can't saw through a branch. It may NOT stop the buds falling BUT to your neighbour its you responding to her request and getting off your arse and doing something. Just say look to be a good neighbour i'll do what I can to trim them back may NOT stop then falling but …

    Maybe its time you realised that no matter what, someday you'll be old and worn out facing health issues as your body breaks down and senility sets in and it will be you doing the same to your neighbour

    • Heaps for Cheaps on 01/12/2022 - 09:40

      Why did you hit the neighbors window with a mop and start yelling her out?

  • tolchok on 01/12/2022 - 06:47

    This is not legal advice obviously, though: The leaf and flower litter likely shouldn’t be a problem for you. See the following Vic Law Reform publication, under the Leaf Litter heading for some potentially relevant decisions: link

    I think the bigger problem is her banging on your window with a mop and shouting (which is assumed, if you can hear her through a closed window over the fence). If it is something that happens frequently, you may want to politely let her know that you would like her to stop, as she could be committing the torts of private nuisance and trespass. Probably not something you’d want to action unless her behaviour gets really bad, but the law is likely on your side (Google Christie v Davey [1893] 1 Ch 316 for example of a key decision). Your state’s Law Society probably has a ‘Neighbour Disputes’ fact sheet with more information.

    • tolchok on 01/12/2022 - 08:33

      I will make clear, I’d always recommend trying to resolve the issue amicably first. You will save yourself a lot of headaches and money if you can come to an arrangement to resolve the issue (maybe offer to help her garden every few months). What I don’t agree with is just doing what she says because she is acting badly, unless there is no loss/damage/harm to you.

  • moo on 01/12/2022 - 09:27

    This looks like the beginning of a r/pettyrevenge or r/maliciouscompliance story….

  • brynmawr on 01/12/2022 - 12:09
    +1

    I'd just like to offer an alternative way of looking at the situation. I grew up and lived in neighbourhoods with a lot of older people and especially older migrants. They come from a society or generation where neighbours look out for one another and its kind of a scratch my back etc system. I learned from my parents that once you lend a hand to these people and understand their concerns they warm up to you very quickly and are more than happy to return favours or sometimes even drop off a slab of beer. Can't speak for this lady however and of course if you choose to ignore her that's your right, but I'd probably just cut the branches myself.

  • Heaps for Cheaps on 01/12/2022 - 12:31
    -1

    " I'd probably just cut the branches myself."
    Ask OP for the addy and head over… but I think you won't. Words are cheaper than actions.

  • Handsoff on 01/12/2022 - 13:57
    +1

    Just because the law is what it is, it doesn't mean we shouldn't have some compassion for our neighbours.

    Your neighbour is allowed to want a clean yard and you're allowed the tree. Yes, if random debris blows onto her lawn then she has no right to complain but you both know the debris comes directly from your tree. I'd trim the tree back and offer to help rake her yard (if it was bad) just so I can sleep better at night knowing I did what I felt was right, not because I was validated on a forum.

    I'm sure if the shoe was on the other foot (or tree was in the other yard), regardless of whether the situation annoyed you or not, you'd be appreciative of your neighbours looking out for you.

    This whole 'get stuffed' attitude is really killing what sense of community there may be.

    • Ramrunner on 01/12/2022 - 14:05

      This 100%. Although I love seeing how people change over the years, friendliness towards their community is really badly on the decline. I wonder if it's because people are much busier now and they need to concentrate on themselves more. IOW you have to be more selfish these days? Either way I do miss the burbs in the 80s when we all knew each other helped out and had huge street christmas parties etc.

      • nwa on 01/12/2022 - 14:34
        +1

        There is no sense of community anymore in neighbors and local community. The same street in the 90s and 00s which had a few cars parked now is full. Houses are bigger or multi residence buildings and granny flats. Greed, with don't care attitude has killed community spirit.

  • IzzFizz on 01/12/2022 - 18:39

    I feel bad for you my guy. If your neighbour is anything like my grandma then she's probably complaining to a lot of other people as well and will never be satisified until the whole damn tree is gone. Then she'll go back to complaining about the birds that shit on her verandah. I wish you the best of luck.

    • stwongy on 02/12/2022 - 01:35

      Thnx for ur empathy my dude

  • bigbadboogieman on 02/12/2022 - 01:04

    My neighbour probably injected and killed my citrus tree because of the branches / growth on their side. I can't prove it was them but it was most likely them. It was a well established tree. Funny bit is that I actually couldn't even go across the other side to trim it and I hated that tree. I think the tree was a mutation because it had two sides. The citrus side was the weaker side and the flowery/thorny side was the stronger side. We got the tree when we moved in.

    It was situated above the main gutter line going out from my home. I would always worry about the roots damaging the pipes costing thousands in repairs. Whoever planted this tree was really short sighted and probably an idiot for letting the thorny side grow. My problem now is: whether I need to get council permission to remove the tree? And how to actually remove the dead tree? It's atleast 1 storey tall.

    • stwongy on 02/12/2022 - 01:33

      My mum has told me that this neighbour and her already gone husband had done that to an olive tree we originally had when I was a child. :-)

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