Personally, I'd opt for asking all those involved if they mind if you plant it. It's the neighborly thing to do.

Keep in mind, though, that even if they all love the idea today it may not stop them from changing their minds later. If any of them ever move away, you'll also not know what the new owners will do.

The safest option would be to locate it entirely within your own yard. I'm pretty sure (but not positive) that anything that hangs over into another person's yard can be cut by the other person.

I'd imagine laws governing overhanging plants and foliage would be fairly uniform. Here, you can plant whatever you want and many do, but any portion of a plant which hangs over the property line is fair game to be removed, without permission. I agree, the neighborly thing to do is ask first. You will probably find most are grateful you asked and just as many probably think the idea is cool. Many people find the addition pretty, particularly if they don't have to maintain it. My uphill neighbors love the Mutabilis, Grandmother's Hat and Dalechampia which peek between all of their green over the fence. When they paid mega bucks for landscaping, the only color they got were Icebergs, various bougainvillea and Flower Carpets. Kim

Check with your township codes. Our township has a code that I cannot put anything but grass on the outermost ten feet of my property. Mostly meant to prevent commercial interest from putting parking lots up to people's fences but it also means I cannot plant anything close to my neighbor's line.

I like that code restriction, Karolina. It would sicken you how often builders buy around here, put up zero lot line behemoths, completely blocking all view and sun and get away with it. They completely destroy the flavor of neighborhoods and any value of surrounding properties. Good for your town! Kim

I like Karolina's regulation, too -- but I think that only works when neighborhoods have been "developed" in a sort of organized, unified fashion.

Our little Lane was carved out of a chunk of old orchard, right around the latter part of WWII. Houses were built here without permits, much less planning -- and with scavenged material.

All that works, though, if everyone is neighborly and cooperative -- which is why I'd urge Zaphod to touch bases with the affected neighbors, before proceeding. See if you can't find a photo somewhere of a mature example of what you want to plant, and show that to them.

Chances are, they'll be happy with it.
If not, you're a lot better-off to find out in advance, and spare yourself a lot of trouble.

Jeri

In truth, if your town has no restrictions, you're free to put in anything you want on your own property. But like Kim said, if it grows on to the others property they are equally free to cut it off. My cousin is constantly battling things her neighbor plants and neglects. The neighbor has planted all kinds of vines on the fence, which belongs to my cousin, and then just lets them go wild. They come through the fence and into her garden strangling everything in their path. My cousin has to whack them off all the time. She's asked the neighbor not to plant things on the fence because it's hard enough to keep it up as is but with the vines all over it it's nearly impossible. So do at least ask first.

With the experiences I have had with people in the past I would recommend you keep whatever you want to do on your property and hopefully the neighbors will do the same. Better yet erect a fence on your property and keep your plants on your side of the fence. Neighbors sometimes change their minds about things as well as move, and others replace them, both good and bad. This way anything you plant will be yours to do what you will and not for a irate or ignorant neighbor to cut down or poison a mature rose that you really like.

The law here is the same as where Kim is: if it hangs over the property line, they can prune it. That's the bad thing about subdivisions. I live in one, but all lots have to be at least 1 acre. I fortunetly have it even better because I'm a corner lot, with an empty lot across the street, the side street has a field on the other side of the road, behind me is an old abandoned farmhouse, and on the forth side is a 1/2 acre utility easement bordered by a large drainage ditch....what does that mean for me? NO touching neighbors and an extra 1/2 acre added onto my one acre :)

Yet, I would still love to move to a more rural area with more land :(

If I were you, I guess it would depend on how friendly you are with your neighbors. If you talk to them regularly, then just mention it and see what they say. If you don't really know them, its a good way to meet them. I doubt they would care, but its always nice to be asked :)

Tammy

Zaphod42: Do you know those three neighbors? Do you have any contact with them? It seems to me that the matter could quickly be put to rest by informing each of the three that you wish to do a planting in that specific location, and simply asking if they object.

Yes, that can be a touchy subject. My neighbor on one side is so totally relaxed and easy going, he could care less, and so could I. He has trees and vines that come over to my property; no problem.

On the other hand, on the other side, the owner was picky picky, doesn't like gardening, has never said anything but if anything grew over he would trim it back even though it's my fence and we put it a foot inside our property line. Now his son lives there, he loves gardening, we are having a contest to get our yards looking great (and they are both starting to!). He doesn't mind stuff growing over.

You just never know.

Good (and recurring) communication is what makes for happy or at least tolerant neighbors. Being able to talk out problems beats any laws or codes. Cultivate roses and communication. :)

Periodic gifts of garden-rose bouquets and home-grown tomatoes work wonders.

I second Generator's caution: Don't plant anything over there that you couldn't stand to lose.

I was in the same situation with a neighbor. I asked to plant a rose hedge along my driveway, which is the side of her yard. I'd do all the care. Sure, she said. I planted a row of various gallica suckers and watched them grow. They were coming along so nicely! Beautiful in bloom. Came home one day last summer and the whole entire hedge was GONE.

Her landscaper told her that the reason my (once-blooming) roses weren't flowering again was because I hadn't cared for them properly and the answer was to cut them down to the ground and they'd regrow again and bloom. I was so mad I cried. I waited a few weeks for sprouts to re-appear and dug up each and every one of my little roses when she wasn't home.

Just put that rose indisputably in your yard.

There are worse things than a rose to plant at property lines, like massive protected oak trees-probably planted by a bird-but why let it grow, ivy and honeysuckle.

So I hope our neighbors do not mind the old rose cuttings I plan planting as soon as they are ready. Guessing when they hop the fence to steal fruit, it might be a new thrill....hehehe. I will be planting them a few feet in side our property line (mostly cause I will use round up on their ivy and honeysuckle)

Today what really chaps my hide....is why park your new car in front of our garden gate/water access instead of parking it in your driveway or in front of your house? Guess it is easier to see when it is across the street. But when I get my new entry gate in, if they keep parking there, I might have to park in front of their entry too. (okay I probably would not do that but it chaps my hide-same when their gardener does that and uses our steps as a break for his truck)

Okay, deep cleansing breath......

I would let the nice neighbors know you want to put in a nice rose and see if they have any concerns.

Kippy, unfortunately, some people "have no fathers". I have a neighbor like that. The street is actually wider by his drive, but he adores bringing anything he needs loaded or unloaded to the narrower part, where my drive and mail box are, so he can inconvenience me and anyone else needing to get through. My home has been hear nearly fifty years. He bought an older home and turned it in to a McMansion less than six years ago. He goes out of his way to inflict himself on as many people as he can find ways to. He's also the one who deliberately planted a hedge of Italian Cypress to block three neighbors' views. Even with a judgement against him to permit them to have the cypress pruned so they don't obstruct their views, it requires court dates to get the pruning done. Some people are just evil. Kim

I hate that their gardener blows all of their jacaranda stuff from just their side of the street, leaving piles in the middle and at either end of their property line...where do you think that ends up when the breeze starts every afternoon. If he would park down the street 20 feet (still on our side of the street and our lower garden) He could blow the whole short section and they would not have the nightly return of the jacaranda mess. Job Security.

IMO always ask. Keep extra cuttings! I put a bed in my one neighbors yard. I had permission. The neighbor moved - he was a partier -but a really nice guy. Anyways, his mother moved into the house. She kept the roses for a good year or so. One day I came home, they were dug out so her other son could use it to park his truck. They moved out less than a month later. The GREAT thing about it was I almost lost a rose I COULD NOT replace. The one rose was the only one that was left in the bed. It was only about 4 inches tall. I'm guessing they didn't know it was a rose? I saved it and re-potted it. Now, the canes are well over 10 feet long. I've never saw it bloom. But, it has oddly became one of my favorite roses !!!

So, only thing I can say is make sure you have a back up of the roses if you want to keep them. You can not control what another person does.

My neighbor on the other side has smothering vines I have to take care of unless I want all my roses along my back fence smothered. She loves the old cannas that I got rid of years ago, they moved to her side of the fence. Fine by me. But, they harbor weeds if you do not take care of them, like anything else. The one vine was so rampant that I was swinging from it like Tarzan last week. Best of luck.