Privet advice please

[alberto]

Hi,

I have a problem that the hedge in my garden (a privet aprox 6 foot high) is actually on the neighbours side of the boundary (the trunks) and the neighbour keeps cutting big holes in it etc. and making my side look a right mess

The neighbour seems to be cutting it completely upto the trunk on their side and there is over 2 foot wide growth on my side - they cut a branch off resulting in a 3 foot wide hole my side etc.

I was wondering if it would be a good idea to plant my own hedge along side it (on my side of the boundary) so that whatever they do to their side mine will be ok
if so what would be the best way of doing this - do I need to cut the old hedge all the way back to the boundary to let the new ones take over or would just planting them and letting them get on with it work ?

any dvice most welcome ?

 

[oilman]

If you can talk to your neighbour, you both ought to cut it right back to about 6 inches high, then let it grow up again. That way it will grow thinshoots everywhere, so there won't be great holes every time your neighbour takes a hack. It will take a couple of years to regrow.

 

[alberto]

Problem is I cant make any sense of what the neighbour is doing with the hedge ?
so I feel sure that it would just happen again
as it looks like the hedge is on their side of the boundary it belongs to them so I have no say but keep being left with a joke of a hedge after investing a lot of time and effort keeping it cut etc.

so I figure my only options are grow my own hedge so if this is damaged it would be trespass and criminal damage
or give up on the hedge, cut it back to the boundary (leaving pretty much nothing) and install my own fence