We have a monstrosity of a front garden, all paving slabs, stones and crappy bushes. We've been here for 11 years and hate it. It also covers both ours and next doors' front gardens. By all accounts next door we instrumental in getting it put in in conjunction with the previous owners.
Mrs Feet mentioned to next door that we were going to be taking it all out on our side and turfing it to have a nice 'normal' front lawn. This was back in October.
Well, the opportunity of doing the aforementioned conversion arose with the long bank holiday and me not having to work, so we informed them yesterday that it was 'game on'.
Oh dear, she who resides next door is most definitely not amused!!
Well, she'll just have to lump it 'cos it's our front garden, not hers, even though she seems to think she has absolute authority over how it looks.
Funny thing is, all the other neighbours keep coming up to us and telling us how much better it will look! I expect North Korea style rhetoric will be forthcoming from next door soon! I'm finding it all quite amusing, much to Mr's Feet annoyance 😀
Maybe you should take a picture of you mowing your nice new lawn, then photoshop two extra mowers in there.
Pics!
who cares what the neighbours think? It's your garden, I wouldn't have even mentioned it to them because it's such a non issue
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But in all seriousness the time for discussion was a while ago when you mentioned it, it's your garden, have at it.
Bet she wouldn't like all noise on long bank holiday weekend. Guess you need to shout out hot words while you struggle at it.
You could offer her all the nasty paving slabs etc? If she likes them so much...
their problem and clearly nothing to do with them what you do
How about a nice picture of a cactus instead of a lawn ...everyone like them
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How about just trimming the bushes outside her window?
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesyfeet/8602201839/ ]Before[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cheesyfeet/ ]-Cheesyfeet-[/url], on Flickr
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The funny raised square thing in the middle will stay for the moment until next door decide what they are going to do with their side. I believe they will be watching many episodes of 'Terry & June' for reference before making a decision.
She next door have now announced that a) your (as in the Feet household) side will look silly and b) she wants a divide put between the two sides. Building a new Berlin wall wasn't on my original plan, but if it shuts her up.....
Chortle, reminds me of our neighbour.
We dont do much with ours, just about keep the weeds at bay. Much to the Grumps annoyance. I think it doesn't help that our rear garden is a good 6-7 times the size of theirs.
Good lord that's hideous.
Oh its that sort of thing. I'm surprised you lived with it for that long to be honest.
You want one of these
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Though if she want's it, then it's up to her to build it surely.
bencooper, what a fantastic idea!
Yes, it is truly hideous, still largely gone now
Back to the digging, will post progress later
Ah I see the issue really that is one garden so you changing your half ruins it really [meaning they have to change theirs as well so there are implications for them. That said it is still tough luck
Garden could do with a tidy.....
This is one of those classic things that distinguishes men from women. When some of previous neighbours got a bit 'funny' about something (I can't remember what), my wife seemed really bothered. I asked her "do you think the neighbours are idiots?". When she said "yes", my reply (and my general attitude to stuff like this) was "well if you think they're idiots, then why do you give a toss what they think?"
Mind you, my wife is a nicer person than me, so maybe she takes this stuff to heart more.
When I was growing up, we had a right pair of miserable sods as neighbours. Sixteen years of non-returned tennis balls, football's, rugby balls etc. No wonder I laughed my arse off on the one occasion I actually broke their greenhouse with a classic acrobatic volley.
Since I left home, my old man has put up what he calls the Berlin Wall. A floor to ceiling height fence to stop the nosey old bat necking over the fence.
Nowt as queer as folk.
Oh, and if you really want to wind her up, be as nice as pie. A bit gushing, but not completely OTT. This will ensure much futile fuming and ranting in her house.
Things like this have always brought out the provocateur in me!
If they want a fence tell them to put one up, if that hideous raised thing in the middle is half in your garden I'd be tempted to cut it down the middle 🙂 but then I'm not one for diplomacy if someone gets on my nerves
Judging from others in the estate, you need the space to park a caravan.
Seriously, well done for disposing of a tired-looking front garden. Get turfing!
Why don't you go round with a bottle of wine or bunch of flowers, have a chat with her and come to some agreement regarding fence etc
Don't fall out with your neighbours, life's too short and all that
Why don't you go round with a bottle of wine or bunch of flowers, have a chat with her and come to some agreement regarding fence etc
You mean come down off the Higher Moral Ground and compromise? Engage in dialogue? Be reasonable? Show tolerance?
Are you new here? 😉
Nooooooooo!
Start a decade-long cold war. Much more fulfilling.
Are you new here?
He's a witch burn him!
Nah, they'll be no bottles of wine or anything else. The guy next door is as nice as they come. She's fine, just as long as she gets her way.
In the back garden, when we had the old falling down fence replaced she told us it should be a low fence otherwise they wouldn't be able to see over it and it would spoil their garden. Excuse me??!!!!! A 5 foot fence with 1 foot gravel board was swiftly installed
She also had the hump with neighbours the other side who had to cut down a tree after roots were getting into the foundations. She had the right a-hole over that and still goes on about it even though it was years ago
Anyway, they are properly religious, so should forgive us our 'sins' anyway
Especially their neighbours.
Build a pump track. Then either a) take it down, and they'll be relieved to have a lawn, or b) don't, and have a pump track, **** the lawn.
9 foot Northshore FTW 😉
Have a(n STW) Lawn Party once complete with plenty of standing in a line and pointing in disgust next door.
If it was mine I would leave it.
How much time does anyone spend on their front garden? You're having to do a load of work now - and all you are gaining is a load of extra lawn (that you won't use) to mow
I'd have block plaved the bally lot - parking is better than mowing.
World needs more green
Blockpaving looks awful.
A lawn that size will take about 20 minutes to run round. Or maybe 40 minutes doing all the assorted guf like edging and the like.
Do it once a week and it wont take long.
Do it once a month and its. A pain in the tits.
Oh and lets face it . What he has now is better than what he had
Have a(n STW) Lawn Party once complete with plenty of standing in a line and pointing in disgust next door.
YES!
A STW Sexy Party!
Ok, just a suggestion
Waste your time winding another human being up over a piece of grass, I'm sure bad karma will repay you in time
But then again you will probably blame that on the neighbour. 😕
I'm half joking, but it astounds me how neighbour disputes go on for years, we have always got on with our neighbours even the more difficult ones, life's too short to be petty, in my book it is anyway
I really enjoy being petty. And vindictive.
I agree, I always give my neighbours a cheery "hello" and a smile when I see them, you never know when you might need a helping hand.
Except the ones that let their dogs turd on the common grass area, they can go swivel.
It doesn't sound like anyone is winding the neighbour up...she's doing it herself!
If a neighbour is like that, then you can either worry about it, or make light of it whilst still being polite when you see them!
Why don't you offer to turf both sides if she pays for it and you'll do the labour? Then you can chalk up a dividing white line and a mini footy field for a kickabout or proper team rivalry to solve disputes. First to 3 wins. Could you also squeeze in a little terrace?, so the other neighbours could back up their favourite team and shout drunken abuse and chants. The street could save all their pent up anger and bickering till say, saturdays at 3pm! Cos it's a small pitch, just have smaller goals and use a tennis ball and 2 players aside.
Update:
There will be no lasting repercussions. She will get over it, and they'll ask us to look after heir house and feed their hedgehog (no not a euphemism) in a couple of weeks when they go on holiday as well, which we will gladly do.
We are always cheery tp them and don't bear a grudge - if she wishes to, well that's down to her. I'd gladly rip all their side up and turf and pay for the lot, but she wants raised beds, paving slabs and stones, so up to her.
Anyway, this is what it looks like now, which we think is miles better already
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....and here is this afternoons disaster:
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesyfeet/8604070722/ ]Aarrrgghhh[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cheesyfeet/ ]-Cheesyfeet-[/url], on Flickr
Who the flippety flock puts the phone/TV cable 1 inch under the ground in mini-trunking???? Needless to say there was a shovel/cable incident..
but I bodged the internet/TV back together
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8261/8604072506_d8651409fc.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesyfeet/8604072506/ ]Aarrrgghhh, but a bodged repair[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cheesyfeet/ ]-Cheesyfeet-[/url], on Flickr
...and it works!!!!
Phone line is still borked - engineer booked for Tuesday, sadly means I'll have to leave some turf off until it's repaired 😥
Now, I think it's time for beer!
Why not get some of that cement block lattice stuff that local authorities use in country car parks? That way it will look like a lawn and you can mow it AND park on it.
[i]Who the flippety flock puts the phone/TV cable 1 inch under the ground in mini-trunking????[/i]
Need you ask?! The cable companies are terrible for it. Too much hassle to bury it at proper depth in duct like all the other utilities do...
Reckon you should lay some of that grass protection mesh so you can park a car or caravan on there should you wish. Invisible once the grass has grown but will stop anything (including bikes/short cutting postmen from making mud/tracks.
i can't be bothered to read the thread to find out, but please tell me you're going full down the middle of that flower bed? 😀
haha slice it perfectly in half, including that little tree and the central flowers! Be reaaallly meticulous about it!
