Elderly neighbour has a tree pushing against garden wall

jayjay2010

My neighbour is elderly, nice man but wouldn't be well enough to have a conversation with. He doesn't use his garden at all and everything is totally overgrown. He has a thick tree/plant (lavender I think) pushing against our garden wall, the wall is starting to swell and the bricks are loosening up. I think if I let it go on for a few more months, the wall will give and could damage my property.

I have tried to trim the bits of it that are hanging over my garden but the problem I think is the actual tree itself is growing into the wall over many, many years.

How best approach this situation? He lives alone and wouldn't let anybody into his property to take a look at it.

Will he be liable for damage to my property if the wall collapses?

jlm29

jayjay2010 wrote: »

My neighbour is elderly, nice man but wouldn't be well enough to have a conversation with. He doesn't use his garden at all and everything is totally overgrown. He has a thick tree/plant (lavender I think) pushing against our garden wall, the wall is starting to swell and the bricks are loosening up. I think if I let it go on for a few more months, the wall will give and could damage my property.

I have tried to trim the bits of it that are hanging over my garden but the problem I think is the actual tree itself is growing into the wall over many, many years.

How best approach this situation? He lives alone and wouldn't let anybody into his property to take a look at it.

Will he be liable for damage to my property if the wall collapses?

Does he have dementia or something that you feel you can’t knock on the door and talk to him? If you feel he’s not compos mentis and cant deal with it himself, does he have a carer or family member who calls that you could approach?

phormium

Now maybe it's possible but have never seen a lavender that big, they are not that long lived either. Purple long flowers? If so sounds more like a butterfly bush, those things grow anywhere and stuck in anything and get massive eventually like a small tree.

Not that identifying it as a butterfly bush helps your problem but you can seriously butcher those yokes and it will still recover fine, I hacked off a load off one that was starting to grow wrong direction and break through a piece of fence.

scamalert

exactly seems people lost sense of communication these days, invite him over to your side and explain the issue. if as poster above said hes out there, then surely someone who can act on his behalf then.


As it sounds person has no means or care about it thus wouldn't really miss it, if it was cut out or replanted.

nthclare

jlm29 wrote: »

Does he have dementia or something that you feel you can’t knock on the door and talk to him? If you feel he’s not compos mentis and cant deal with it himself, does he have a carer or family member who calls that you could approach?

Root prune it in the dark of the nightif you're a rogue like myself , if it's lavender the roots are quite fibrous, or if he's old tell him his garden looks wild and if he needs any help you'll be there to give him a hand thinning it out.

Although lavender are quite weak, have you a picture of the shrub...

nthclare

jlm29 wrote: »

Does he have dementia or something that you feel you can’t knock on the door and talk to him? If you feel he’s not compos mentis and cant deal with it himself, does he have a carer or family member who calls that you could approach?

Root prune it in the dark of the nightif you're a rogue like myself , if it's lavender the roots are quite fibrous, or if he's old tell him his garden looks wild and if he needs any help you'll be there to give him a hand thinning it out.

Although lavender are quite weak, have you a picture of the shrub...