I think I'm 110% confused about the landscaper parking issue and why you didn't make them move and/or buy some cones, but on the part about the bush, the bush actually needs to come out. It's too big for the space and from the cut shot, isn't healthy anymore.
Post by rosiebear on Sept 20, 2022 12:52:44 GMT -5
Wow that looks terrible. Unfortunately, it is on the lot line and you don’t have much room for outrage, imo. Sorry - the situation sucks but I don’t think anyone is 💯 right or wrong here.
The bush looks like crap, but I knew it would, I believed you! I do think it’s highly likely that the landscapers just hacked it with no regard for how it looks. Lately, anytime I’ve asked landscapers to “trim” something, they’ve done a hack job like that. I’m sorry your neighbors suck.
The landscapers couldn’t really prune it properly because it’s not on their property so they hacked the side they could. Again, they should have cashed you about you taking it down but I’d love be annoyed to have a big overgrown half dying bush on my property too.
Post by icedcoffee on Sept 20, 2022 12:57:41 GMT -5
I haven’t commented on the mailbox situation because I would have called the cops if they didn’t stop the first couple times I asked them to knock it off.
Post by dancingirl21 on Sept 20, 2022 12:59:18 GMT -5
This is tricky, IMO. I think the landscaping company should be the ones to come fix that or do something to make it at least look better. What they did is 100% not okay. But I do think your neighbors have the right to do something to get it off their property. Our neighbors have a tree that overhangs part of our backyard. We have plans to build a 3 season room right under where that tree overhangs, and we will be removing branches. It hangs low enough that it would touch the roof on our new room. Maybe they have plans to do something there?
Post by simpsongal on Sept 20, 2022 13:02:29 GMT -5
Ugh, that's not good re the bush. It does extend quite a bit onto their property. I don't think they orchestrated the situation to ensure their landscapers cut it in half, effectively forcing your hand to remove the bush (maaaybe?).
It doesn't look like the type of evergreen that will bounce back. But to be fair, it does look overgrown for the space and relative to your house and other landscaping. I'd laugh/gossip talk w/your DH about it for years and trot that pic out to show people the ridiculousness - and then plant something more compact in the space.
I'm sorry - neighbors getting work done is almost always an imposition on surrounding neighbors.
1) you said two women lived there, but that you asked the father to move the car once when they moved in before landscaping started. Whose father? one of their fathers who presumably does not live there? 2) Have you spoken to the neighbors at all directly (even to say niceties, etc) in the last 3.5 months since they moved in? 3) Is there a way you can go ask the neighbors who they used for landscaping so you can kind of blame the issue on the landscapers and see how they react? Something along the lines of "your landscapers asked us if they could trim our bush, but it was clearly ruined and is making both of our properties look bad; we want to contact them to remove the rest of the bush at this point" and see how they respond? 4) from the picture it DOES look like a gate with a dog warning sign, but you are saying it is just a regular fence connecting both of your houses? No gate there? (not really relevant at this point, just curious lol)
clearly the bush looks insane like this, and it is dying. That really sucks. But it also looks like a large portion of it is on their property. The new neighbors either asked the landscapers to remove part of it from their property by trimming it and the landscapers did a shit ass job, for which the landscapers should be removing the remainder of the bush at their own expense and replacing it with a new one, if you want, OR the neighbors asked the landscapers to do whatever was necessary to remove the bush from their property and the landscapers did what they were asked, to the expense of your bush. While technically they had the right to do this, it would be a totally douchey new neighbor thing to do. SO...I think you need to ask the neighbors in a polite way about the landscapers and see how they respond. If they are douches about it, that is on them, and you are not out anything and you know up front that your neighbors suck.
Post by InBetweenDays on Sept 20, 2022 13:13:04 GMT -5
That is such a hack job. I don't think the bush looked/looks unhealthy though - that what happens when needled evergreens are sheared/shaped. It creates a sort of "dead zone" in the middle. I also don't know that it will kill the bush. Those things are pretty hearty so unless they cut into the main stump it will likely survive.
I certainly think you could approach the neighbors and let them know you're disappointed in how the landscapers cut the bush, that you wish you had known the extent of the planned pruning, and figure out what can be done to make things look better. But I wouldn't jump to being mad at these neighbors or thinking they are assholes without first talking to them.
I've stayed out of this thread because I am a hater of big, overgrown bushes & especially ones that aren't on my property because I can't rip them out. Before I saw the pic I figured it encroached on their property quite a bit and I'd want it cut back as well if I were them. HOWEVER, after seeing the picture, that is.....not good. If they wanted it off their property line (within their right) they should have talked to you about it beforehand because it's obvious that to get it off, they would have to do a hack job like that. I'm sorry, that's a crappy way to adjust to new neighbors.
That bush looks terrible. Was it dead before or did it just die after they pruned it because I still see dead pieces?
I think it is stupid, but the bush is too big for the space. I would ask them if the landscapers can remove the bush for free since they have now destroyed the bush. Then I would plant a new bush that is far smaller in the space. It might be kind of a big ask, but sometimes companies will do that, and it is a lot of root to dig out myself.
Not the main point, but am I the only one who thinks it’s weird the mailman won’t deliver the mail if someone is parked there? For literally 3 months? Don’t people have vehicles in front of mailboxes all the time?? (Note: where I live the mail person walks and my mailbox is a slot in my front door so I admit I could be way off. But I feel like those traditional mailboxes on posts by the street must be at least partially blocked quite often? Not delivering mail for over 3 months seems insane)
Not the point but folks keep mentioning trimming tree limbs and that's really not a good equivalent to this. You can trim limbs without it looking like a huge mess like bushes or shrubs. LOL I'm irrationally annoyed by the comparison.
Not the main point, but am I the only one who thinks it’s weird the mailman won’t deliver the mail if someone is parked there? For literally 3 months? Don’t people have vehicles in front of mailboxes all the time?? (Note: where I live the mail person walks and my mailbox is a slot in my front door so I admit I could be way off. But I feel like those traditional mailboxes on posts by the street must be at least partially blocked quite often? Not delivering mail for over 3 months seems insane)
Parking in front of mailboxes is like parking in a tow zone, it’s not allowed. Many places will ticket. So I think the USPS policy is not to deliver to blocked mailboxes. I’m sure there are exceptions, but it seems pretty standard practice.
Not the main point, but am I the only one who thinks it’s weird the mailman won’t deliver the mail if someone is parked there? For literally 3 months? Don’t people have vehicles in front of mailboxes all the time?? (Note: where I live the mail person walks and my mailbox is a slot in my front door so I admit I could be way off. But I feel like those traditional mailboxes on posts by the street must be at least partially blocked quite often? Not delivering mail for over 3 months seems insane)
Parking in front of mailboxes is like parking in a tow zone, it’s not allowed. Many places will ticket. So I think the USPS policy is not to deliver to blocked mailboxes. I’m sure there are exceptions, but it seems pretty standard practice.
see, living where I do I did not know this! Lol Evetyone here has mail slots or the box attached to the house itself
Not the main point, but am I the only one who thinks it’s weird the mailman won’t deliver the mail if someone is parked there? For literally 3 months? Don’t people have vehicles in front of mailboxes all the time?? (Note: where I live the mail person walks and my mailbox is a slot in my front door so I admit I could be way off. But I feel like those traditional mailboxes on posts by the street must be at least partially blocked quite often? Not delivering mail for over 3 months seems insane)
3 months is a long time but the rule is the same here, if the box is blocked they don't get out of the vehicle and people know it and don't block boxes.
We're super lucky because our mailman lives 3 houses away so he's more lenient with our cul de sac - like something too big for the box should be picked up at the post office but he'll bring it to our door.
Parking in front of mailboxes is like parking in a tow zone, it’s not allowed. Many places will ticket. So I think the USPS policy is not to deliver to blocked mailboxes. I’m sure there are exceptions, but it seems pretty standard practice.
see, living where I do I did not know this! Lol Evetyone here has mail slots or the box attached to the house itself
I know! City living has so many benefits, I’ve never had to deal with a mailbox either.
Post by dexteroni on Sept 20, 2022 13:26:13 GMT -5
Oh wow. Ok I’m sorry but that pic made me laugh. Who stepped back from that work and was like “perfect!” Lol.
My advice to talk to the neighbors about the mailbox remains the same. But re the bush, at this point I’d tell them to go ahead and have them remove it altogether.
And yes that is (or was!) too large for the space. It looks like it’s 3/4 the height of your house. It will look more open without it. Or you can replace it with a smaller one of similar style.
That bush looks terrible. Was it dead before or did it just die after they pruned it because I still see dead pieces?
I think it is stupid, but the bush is too big for the space. I would ask them if the landscapers can remove the bush for free since they have now destroyed the bush. Then I would plant a new bush that is far smaller in the space. It might be kind of a big ask, but sometimes companies will do that, and it is a lot of root to dig out myself.
The interior of that kind of evergreen will be just brown, it doesn't grow green leaves/needles anymore since the sun doesn't reach the inside. The landscapers cut off all the green leaves/needles, which has exposed the interior where there is no green.
Not the main point, but am I the only one who thinks it’s weird the mailman won’t deliver the mail if someone is parked there? For literally 3 months? Don’t people have vehicles in front of mailboxes all the time?? (Note: where I live the mail person walks and my mailbox is a slot in my front door so I admit I could be way off. But I feel like those traditional mailboxes on posts by the street must be at least partially blocked quite often? Not delivering mail for over 3 months seems insane)
Yeah, we live in an area where the mail is delivered on foot as well. Because most mailboxes are along the sidewalk or at the house rather than along the street. North of us a ways (but still in the city limits) there are some neighborhoods without sidewalks and the mail won't be delivered there if the mailboxes are blocked. But it's still a busy urban neighborhood with limited off-street parking so I don't understand how all the neighbors can park on the street without blocking the mailboxes.
Not the main point, but am I the only one who thinks it’s weird the mailman won’t deliver the mail if someone is parked there? For literally 3 months? Don’t people have vehicles in front of mailboxes all the time?? (Note: where I live the mail person walks and my mailbox is a slot in my front door so I admit I could be way off. But I feel like those traditional mailboxes on posts by the street must be at least partially blocked quite often? Not delivering mail for over 3 months seems insane)
Not completely related, but our cul-de-sac is pretty tight and the way the builders did the mailboxes there are 2 that the mailman cannot maneuver to pull up in front of. So he gets close, but still has to get out and put it in the box. I'm not sure why there wasn't a plan for mailboxes, because some are in a spot I would not have selected.
It's also why many new developments are going to centralized boxes.
Parking in front of mailboxes is like parking in a tow zone, it’s not allowed. Many places will ticket. So I think the USPS policy is not to deliver to blocked mailboxes. I’m sure there are exceptions, but it seems pretty standard practice.
see, living where I do I did not know this! Lol Evetyone here has mail slots or the box attached to the house itself
Yea this was something I didn’t know either until I was an adult. My parents live in a town with mailboxes at the door and the mail is delivered on foot. I was tutoring one evening in another state as a young adult and blocked the mailbox not knowing you couldn’t do that. Luckily the mail person just left a note on my car (it was a form letter) informing me.
That bush looks terrible. Was it dead before or did it just die after they pruned it because I still see dead pieces?
I think it is stupid, but the bush is too big for the space. I would ask them if the landscapers can remove the bush for free since they have now destroyed the bush. Then I would plant a new bush that is far smaller in the space. It might be kind of a big ask, but sometimes companies will do that, and it is a lot of root to dig out myself.
The interior of that kind of evergreen will be just brown, it doesn't grow green leaves/needles anymore since the sun doesn't reach the inside. The landscapers cut off all the green leaves/needles, which has exposed the interior where there is no green.
Yeah that makes sense. It's just funny that they ask to cut off the dead stuff, but sounds like instead they cut off the green stuff and exposed the dead stuff. Either way it looks terrible.
Post by dexteroni on Sept 20, 2022 13:47:37 GMT -5
I still can’t look at that photo without laughing. omg. What were they thinking? But it looks like it’s planted *right* on the property line, or a few inches from it at most. So it probably started out like 2 feet wide and was left to get way too big. At this point, even if they had asked nicely, there’s not really a way to prune an evergreen that much without it looking, well, like it does now. So if the neighbors want “their” half gone, then the whole thing does need to go. But they need to pay for it since they’re the ones who hacked it in half.
Post by fivechickens on Sept 20, 2022 13:53:46 GMT -5
That bush looks awful. Yes I would be annoyed. Why could they not have come over as courtsey and say ‘hey we are trimming your bush it’s encroaching on our property’.
Also the whole mailbox thing, why not block the house mailbox they are working on? (Or is a group of mail boxes?) most people know a mailman would not deliver mail to a blocked mail box and I am not even sure it is legal go block a mailbox. I absolutely would have told those numb nuts to move their truck.
I’d put Christmas lights on it and let it live as long as it dare.
Or I’d attach a comically large band aid. (OP don’t do that; it would be passive aggressive. But I still think it would be hilarious. Maybe crediting landscapers and see if they react.)