Need ideas on how to separate merged front yards

12 years ago

Houses in our community each have 5' side yards. Neighbor has large robellini palm with low fronds just about to the property line. She and anyone doing work at her house, walk around the palm into our sodded area. She also planted on her side oleanders 1' in from the property line. When these branch and leaf out, no one can walk on her side yard - they all use our 5' space. We have replaced sod here 3 times in the 5 years we have lived here. I have tried talking with her and all she does is apologize for wearing down the sod (again). Fences in our community must have a 10' set back from the front of the house so that won't relieve the situation. I planted 6 young plants along our side by the oleanders - 3 out of 6 got stepped on. I have relocated those. I don't want a side yard full of plants. Our front and back yards have the beds. Both side yards are kept simple with well maintained sod - until her foot traffic wears it down and it becomes weedy and has to be replaced again. Would like to know how others have done a separation at the property line. .

Featured Answer

Curt D'Onofrio

12 years ago

Sorry, evil mind at work. Raise or lower the pH level of 'your' soil so the plants causing you grief will maybe meet their 'natural' demise.

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Comments (7)

PRO
User
12 years ago
You can acquiesce to the inevitable and place a concrete path there. Or you can try a motion activated sprinkler "to deter the animal pests". Or, you can plant nasty unpleasant to be around shrubs there like barberry. But, there really isn't any way to keep the area as well kept lawn and stopping your neighbors trespass both. At least, no way to do that that won't involve a lot more heavy duty conflict on your part which can get really ugly. If you want things to remain amicable, your best bet is passive aggressive options like creating that area as a garden bed with nasty thorny plants.
beachwalker520 thanked User
Curt D'Onofrio
12 years ago
last modified: 12 years ago
Ref: passive aggressive. This may be locale specific so do your homework before doing the following -> There is land boundaries, but there is also air boundaries. For example, a fence clearly defined boundary lines, but when neighbors tree branches extended over my fence i was in my right to lop them off. I didn't do no lopping but i checked out the law just in case i needed to do so
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beachwalker520
Original Author
12 years ago
Everyone's ideas are appreciated. When branches hang heavy and interfere with our navigation of our yard, I trim the branches back. Neighbor doesn't mind. We have dealt with stinging caterpillar infestations each year which make it annoying when we are mowing. The oleanders have to be dusted/sprayed regularly with chemicals which I try not to use around our home (we have elderly, grandbaby and pets). For the same reasons I don't want thorny plants in this narrow strip.
I don't intend to pave or make a walking path in our yard. It is not a need our family has and I don't see the need to help my neighbor use our yard as her own. She's already put down cement squares on the yard on the other side of her house.
I am considering podocarpus which can be kept slim so we don't lose much of our 5'. Still open to solutions that have actually worked for others. Thank you Houzzers!
User
12 years ago
Post No Trespassing signs and have her workers arrested when they come on to your property. If you're not willing to escalate to that level, then there isn't anything short of that that will work and let you keep an undamaged lawn. If you do go to that level, be sure that your glass house won't get some stones in return. This is how those crazy neighborhood feuds are begun that always end in such grief.
beachwalker520
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you, Sophie. I'm not looking for a battle, just boundary for our yard. We try to respect the property of others, and if not afforded that by others, then a visual boundary is going to have to be put in.
nasmijati
12 years ago
Here is a discussion thread on a very similar topic:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-separate-merged-front-yards-good-questions-172841
beachwalker520 thanked nasmijati