Grow Your Own Magazine

The tree surgeons have turned up today (been waiting 2 months for 'em). I have leylandii in the back garden, L-shaped down the left hand side & along the bottom. They're really tall (at least 20ft) and completely mask the fact that I'm surrounded by houses. Now, before any of you go off on one about Leylandii, I have an excellent rapport with the neighbours affected by the trees and always ask if they're causing a problem - up to press everyone has been happy with them & the birds adore them. But, after Christmas my next door neighbour asked if they could be brought down a bit when they got their hair-cut so he could get more light in his greenhouse. Fair enough, I asked the tree-surgeon to take half off the left-hand trees & the usual third off the back ones.
So, today 2 blokes arrive, no boss, with all the machinery. We had a chat about what they were doing, they moaned on about boss expecting a days work in half a day and then set to. I was sitting here, not looking what they're up to, when Pa arrived to see how it was going. Walked out into the back garden and nearly fell over with shock... They've chopped off more than half of the back row of trees, & the house behind is in full view

I hate being over-looked by other houses (proper phobic, not just a minor dislike) and the only reason I agreed to live here was because of those trees

What am I gonna do??!!

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Put up a temporary 6ft willow/hazel screen nearer the house where you sit, whilst you wait for the leylandii to grow?

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Manda.

Yet Nature is made better by no mean
But Nature makes that mean; so over that art
Which you say adds to Nature, is an art
That Nature makes.

book a hitman

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aka
Suzie

Jez will have to be restrained when he gets home

Really fed up, the view from my kitchen window is now the back of someone's house & 3 mutilated trees
I'll post a pic when they've gone. The thick barstewards aren't getting paid til I've seen their boss, that's for sure!

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

(((hugs)))

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aka
Suzie

Here we go. Bearing in mind that my kitchen window is higher than where I took the picture from, and the bedroom windows even higher
I'll be amazed if they survive, there's so little greenery left on the left-hand 2.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Oh dear. Did you say it was tree surgeons or butchers what did it?

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I came, I saw, I planted

That's dreadful! Please take loads of pictures, as evidence. These butchers (sorry to all of you in the meat trade) will want paying for this - and they shouldn't receive any money, just a compo claim.

I don't think Leylandii grows back from 'brown'

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Nell

NELLIE
Your right conifer doesn't grow from the brown that is the height for the rest of their life

WHAT!!!!!

.............. !


I'll be back when I can be polite!

Not quite.

Any green bits will continue to grow.

The brown bits will stay as they are for ever, or until they rot.

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Always thank people who have helped you immediately, as they may not be around to thank later.
Visit my blog at http://podsplot.blogspot.com/
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Oh Sarah, that's horrible for you! I'd go with SPB's advice of a temporary (or permenant, I guess, if the Leylandii really are done for) screen, if you can. (hugs)

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http://thankyouforthedays.blogspot.com/

Stand up now diggers all

We have lleylandi in our garden and our tree surgeon said if he was to top them they would probably die best to just trim. I would get on the phone to the boss at the earliest opportunity and voice your disgust this is not acceptable from people who claim to be proffesionals

Topaz, it should be safe to take up to a third of the height off the Leylandii without killing them. Any more than that is taking a risk.
I knew that we'd be putting the left-hand ones at risk by taking them down by 50%, but I was willing to try it as they're pretty healthy. I knew the ones at the back wouldn't take that amount of chopping so I said (at least 3 times) that they should only have a third taken off the tops. I said it to Mr Binns (boss/owner) when he came to price the job and to the 2 doylems who came to do the work...

Heigh ho...
So how to cope with it now it's done?
I was wondering about growing something up/over the massacred trees? I know that planting in the ground is pointless - bone dry & acidic - but I've got a big/deep dolly-tub which I could plant in? I was thinking maybe Clematis - Montana type which grows like mad, and/or some ivy for evergreen-ness? Any other ideas?

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Russian Vine is rampant - very!!

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aka
Suzie

This one?
Buy Russian Vine 'Fallopia baldschuanica' : Delivery by Crocus.co.uk
Pretty flowers Says it's deciduous, so would I be able to put an ivy in too?

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Sarah

http://wixypixies.blogspot.com/

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

that's the one - it is deciduous but leaves behind it masses of 'structure' in the form of its skeleton - it really does grow very quickly and I'm not too sure if an ivy would cope with it as well, but worth a try

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aka
Suzie

I know that feeling and I block out my neighbours with trellis above my 6ft fence and grow climbers all over it. Shall I see if I've got any self set spare ones for you?