Neighbour's demolition job

[bjd]

We arrived at the house by the coast yesterday and were horrified to find that the neighbour behind us (south side) had all her hedges taken out and giant branches lopped off two trees. This means that the plants that were already there when we bought the house, plus the rhododendrons, azaleas and two Japanese maples I planted 2 years ago are now in full sun. This morning I asked at the nursery and was told the leaves would fry in the summer.

Putting a roof over them would prevent rain from watering them. And it's not the time to transplant anything, even if I had anywhere to put them. I have no idea how long it takes for big branches to grow back on purple beeches and liquidambar trees. God knows what she was thinking!

Any ideas on what I can do, especially given that we are not here all the time? We bought some fencing to put up so that we don't have an unbroken view through to her swimming pool, but that doesn't do anything to shade the garden on our side.

[questa]

What a thoughtless neighbour...I think I would be devastated if someone vandalized my home like that.
How tall are the trees that are now exposed? You don't need to put a roof over them, just make a screen as high as you need to stop the hottest part of the sun reaching your foliage. Basically it is just replacing the hedge with a shade cloth sail or screen. Check if any locals are demolishing tennis court fencing or timber decks...might save a bit.
On very hot days keep the plants well watered, maybe shield delicate ones with light cloth pegged to the branches. You only have to concentrate on the south side of plants where the sun is more burning.

[Deleted]

Thoughtless indeed.

Whenever we have to have tree work done we always check with the neighborhood properties who will be affected.

I'm going to suggest placing some shade cloth over the plantings that will be affected. It's a very durable mesh and it is available in different textures that allow different degrees of sunlight in. In other words, the mesh that's a tighter weave providing more shade and mesh with a looser weave lets in more light etc. 
I used it when I had my little greenhouse.

Without having a mental picture of the area and size of the plantings try and post some pictures as they would be more helpful in assessing your situation.

Sorry this happened to you and will try to assist you in solving this dilemma.

Go get your camera out and snap away.

(edited to add, Whoops, I see that Questa already suggested the same.)

[bjd]

I didn't bring my camera with me this time.

They are not "trees" yet. Just Japanese maples that I planted 2 years ago and some rhododendrons and azaleas that are not too big. The problem is that in summer, the sun is very high up and there is no way to shade the plants in any way. I did think of getting a sail or something to use as shade but don't know how to get around the problem of rain not getting through.

This afternoon we bought some fencing made of a kind of heather, but it's not very high. Mostly to have a bit of privacy. I think for the big trees, which belong to the neighbour, we just have to wait until they grow back.

[kerouac2]

When my parents were living in Florida, there were two little bushes on each side of the driveway. (And I can attest that they were "little.") They received a visit from the sheriff one day who told them they had to be removed because one of their neighbours nearly had an accident because the bushes blocked his view when he was backing out of his own driveway. Even though my parents found this ridiculous, they complied.

[Deleted]

As mentioned, shade cloth will allow rain or any other form of watering in OR you could lay down some soaker hoses if you go the sail cloth route.


Buy a disposable camera, they are very inexpensive or use your cell phone.

[questa]

Don't overdo the shade...After a 10 day heat wave about 6 years ago which killed most of my plants, I built a protected area for beans, snap peas capsicum etc. I used 85% shade cloth and the plants thrived, however the lack of sunlight meant no flowers and no fruit. I would ask your garden expert what would be best...not the hardware chap.

[bixaorellana]

Whereas shade cloth would work to protect the plants, in that landscaping situation it seems like a stop-gap measure.

Since Mrs. Destructo isn't going away and is likely to continue cutting  any limbs that grow back on the liquidambar and purple beech trees () which would shed leaves on her concrete pond, I think you need a sturdier and more permanent solution.

What I'm envisioning is some kind of lathe arrangement which would duplicate the dappled sun/shade the big limbs were providing before.
It wouldn't necessarily have to be lathe -- bamboo or cane structures would work too. Mainly the idea would be something that looked as though it were planned for the space.

I'm having trouble finding a picture to exactly illustrate what I mean, as most of the structures shown are lower and/or chunkier than you'd want. I'm thinking tall uprights against the property line where the hedge was, with the "roof" angling upward.

This picture sort of shows what I mean by angling the roof upward. Of course you'd want something with less of an enclosed feel & also much higher so the Japanese maples could grow in peace.

[questa]

Spot on, Bixa. Just as I was imagining in Reply #1...Good luck with this, bjd. I think in time this will suit your plants even better than her hedge.

[bjd]

That frame looks like a good idea, Bixa. We'll go to the nursery and check out what is available in trellises and wood.

Mrs Destructo is about 85 years old and has a huge garden and rarely comes outside. The pool is used a few times a year by her kids/grandchildren. I have never actually talked to her so have no idea why she had the trees cut like that. My husband did hear the tree-cutters saying "You won't have any trouble with the neighbours" before we left at the beginning of March. I don't think any neighbours have complained about anything -- we being the closest to her trees.

Casi, I do have a good camera, just don't always bring it with me when I come here.

[kerouac2]

I like the photo of the wooden structure, but it doesn't look like an extremely economical solution.

[bjd]

For the time being we have not done anything other than plant a few bushes that we hope will grow quickly and mask things. It turns out that, for the time being, what remains of the trees put some half-shade on our bushes so we will wait until we return in a few weeks and see how it goes when it gets warmer and the sun shines more.