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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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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesyfeet/8602202453/ ]During[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cheesyfeet/ ]-Cheesyfeet-[/url], on Flickr
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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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesyfeet/8604087548/ ]30th March 2013[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cheesyfeet/ ]-Cheesyfeet-[/url], on Flickr
....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
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[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!
PDF, you going to amalgamate or something those F connectors?
It's very tempting and I did look at my angle grinder earlier!
Decided that may tip them over the edge right now, so will be left for the moment, but it will be coming out at some point in the not too distant future!
F connectors - they are a temp bodge, now wrapped in leccy tape. VM engineer here on Tuesday to do something better (or possibly not!)
easygirl - MemberOk, 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
piedi di formaggio - MemberWho 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..
😯
@ easygirl ........truly you have the gift of foresight, oh wise sage.
What other words of wisdom can bestow on those who seek to tread the path of enlightenment ?
Ernie
I used to be as belligerent as anyone, but I've seen a few horrific things over the years that people do to each other, I must be going soft in my old age, can't be arsed winding people up anymore
I even cleaned my neighbours drive of snow last week and picked her some groceries up. 🙂
Will you be planting anything else other than just laying turf?
You may not have liked what was there before, but at least it was a bit more biodiverse than just grass. Some diversity would be good for the wee bugs that we ignore but really need.
Virgin just parted the turf pretty much when they installed our cable, to install it to any kind of depth would take a while. I guess they then run into a world of issues with regards to pipes and cables already installed if they were to dig down deeper, not to mention the time taken.
You should Tarmac over it and park a caravan there like everyone else on your street.
F connectors - they are a temp bodge, now wrapped in leccy tape. VM engineer here on Tuesday to do something better (or possibly not!)
It's distinctly possible that you've already gone waaaaay beyond what the 'engineer' will think is necessary. If you're lucky he may use a bit more tape...
@ feet.... you're in Chelmsford, aren't you?
do you per chance live on Beeches estate? Houses round your way look similar to my folk's house.
Hello, taking a tea break.
Yes in Chelmo, not Beeches though
Relations next door are pretty much back to what they are usually. He will talk to us and is a really nice friendly chap. I think he likes what we are doing, she has thawed, a bit, but she's always been a bit 'my way is the only correct way'
Anyway, progress has been good today, clearance was completed and top soil applied...
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesyfeet/8606679510/ ]IMG_1218[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cheesyfeet/ ]-Cheesyfeet-[/url], on Flickr
Turf laying in progress...
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesyfeet/8606683780/ ]IMG_1221[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cheesyfeet/ ]-Cheesyfeet-[/url], on Flickr
...and nearly done. I've left some bits of turf strategically left off until I know what's happening with the VM cable (the broken bit is under the paving slabs
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesyfeet/8605581347/ ]IMG_1223[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cheesyfeet/ ]-Cheesyfeet-[/url], on Flickr
Just gotta work out what to do with a couple of tons of gravel!
Diversity will come with a small tree at some point and loads of pots with various things in near the house
....and here is this afternoons disaster:
Today's word is "Resistentialism"
Wild flower garden for diversity and low maintenance.
Basically, just cut it once at the end of the summer, it's for bees and nature and stuff innit.
[i] We've been here for 11 years and hate it.[/i]
So every time you came home you hated the look, and you've left it for 11 years...
So every time you came home you hated the look, and you've left it for 11 years...
There was a hell of a lot other stuff needed doing to the house and back garden, so we haven't sat still. We were also putting off mentioning it to the neighbour too!
Anyway, nearly done now....
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[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheesyfeet/8606826256/ ]IMG_1226[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/cheesyfeet/ ]-Cheesyfeet-[/url], on Flickr
Forgot to say, her next door said 'it's looks nice', which was a surprise, but then lobbed in an 'each to their own' just to balance it out!
I wouldn't worry about the neighbour. She drives a Nissan note for f's sake, no taste whatsoever
Glad to see your neighbour has shown some humility, she's not as bad as thought then.
Down to the supermarket for a bunch of flowers then 😀
Diversity will come with a small tree at some point and loads of pots with various things in near the house
Will they be doing one of them "street" dances when they come? I reckon a bunch of yoofs jumping around the lawn won't help relations with the neighbour!
A genuine LOL at dabble's post! 😀
Funnily enough, they tolerated and even joined in the street party we had last year!
They sound like great neighbours to me, I'll send you £10 by PayPal,for some flowers for her 😀
It looks much better. And to think you criticised the condition of my floorboards when you had a front garden that looked like that....! 😉
Generally they are OK, it's just the garden thing that's an issue, she can be very 'particular'!
Oh and she hates cats with a passion and would gladly see them all dead, and she's told us that. We have a cat (mind you he does like to catch birds in her garden!)
the only thing i'd be annoyed about if i was her would be my lack of vision, some of which might have meant they could have helped out and both sides could have looked like yours does now, i.e. infinitely better!
FWIW I don't think the raised bed looks too bad!
I do hope the crazy paving is next on your list, otherwise she has won & your stuck in the 70's 😉
I like her garden. And I reckon your plain, and quite frankly rather dull piece of tuft, has by its contrast, accentuated the aesthetic factor of her garden. So I can understand why she might no longer be bothered 🙂
One thing I would say about pea gravel and slabs. They do breed brilliant ant colonies. My gran had a front garden like that. As a nipper I spent ages watching them!
Looks much better, the central square thing is enough to tie the two gardens together. There's no reason that the garden should always be stuck in the seventies monstrosity of nasty pavers and raised beds. Some more flowering plants would have been nice but only if you're the sort that can dedicate enough time to keep them looking tip top otherwise grass is a decent compromise.
dannyh - MemberOne thing I would say about pea gravel and slabs. They do breed brilliant ant colonies. My gran had a front garden like that. As a nipper I spent ages watching them!
Danny...go outside and play with the ants! Okay... 😆
Oh and she hates cats with a passion and would gladly see them all dead, and she's told us that. We have a cat (mind you he does like to catch birds in her garden!)
She's sounding more and more reasonable by the second...
Keep that turf well watered for first month till it takes
Looks like you just butted edges. Might need to fill in gaps with top soil if its not kept wet. Turf likes to shrink - even more so when it dries out.
a ton of gravel? Use it on your local trails to fill bits. (big rocks first though!)
Just discovered this thread, have to say I am both laughing and appalled at the same time
My aunty may well be a bit particular but she is very proud of her house (and her car 😉 ), people just have different tastes, be a boring world if we all liked the same
Didn't know a member of my family lived next to a fellow stw'er, say hello from me