Gerdening Services Near You in Merton

Almost every argument about a garden is really an argument about a line. Where the boundary runs, who owns the fence, whose tree is dropping what and how high a hedge is allowed to grow account for a large share of neighbour disputes, and they are also the questions most often answered wrongly by both parties. The law here is more settled than people expect, and a gardener who knows it can usually get work done on a shared boundary without the conversation becoming difficult.

Overhanging branches and the right of abatement

Where a neighbour's tree or hedge grows across a boundary, the affected owner may cut back the growth to the boundary line without asking permission. That right has limits. The cut stops at the line and does not extend into the neighbour's airspace, the work must not kill or destabilise the tree, and it does not apply where the tree carries a preservation order or sits in a conservation area, in which case the usual consent or notice is required first. Telling the neighbour beforehand is not a legal requirement but it avoids a great deal of trouble.

What comes off does not become yours

The point that surprises people is ownership. Branches, fruit and anything else cut from a neighbour's tree remain the neighbour's property, and they should be offered back rather than kept or disposed of without asking. Throwing the material over the fence is not offering it back; that is fly-tipping. In practice most neighbours are content for a gardener to take it away, but the offer should be made and the answer noted, particularly where the tree is productive and the fruit has value to its owner.

High hedges and the evergreen rule

There is a specific remedy for a hedge that blocks light, and it is narrower than most people assume. A local authority complaint can only be made about a barrier of two or more mostly evergreen or semi-evergreen trees or shrubs, over two metres high, that is adversely affecting the reasonable enjoyment of a neighbouring property. A single tree does not qualify, however large, and neither does a deciduous hedge. The authority will also expect evidence that the neighbours have genuinely tried to resolve it between themselves before a formal complaint is accepted.

Hours, noise and machinery

Petrol hedge trimmers, chippers and blowers are loud enough to generate complaints, and the working hours that are generally accepted for noisy equipment are weekday daytimes with reduced hours at weekends and none on a Sunday morning. Local authorities can act on noise at any hour if it amounts to a statutory nuisance. Practically, the answer is to schedule the loud part of a job into the middle of the day, to let adjoining households know when a long hedge run is happening, and to use battery machines where they will do.

Boundary cover and what travels along it

An unmanaged line where two gardens meet becomes a continuous corridor of bramble, ivy and accumulated debris, and in a densely developed area that corridor runs the length of a whole block. Rodents use it exactly as it is intended not to be used, moving between sheds, compost bins and buildings under permanent cover. Cutting the base out once or twice a year, on both sides where the neighbour agrees, removes the run. Anything already established in an outbuilding is dealt with by pest control cover across Merton.

Shared paths and slippery joints

Side passages and shared accesses between semi-detached and terraced properties get almost no sun, collect leaf litter from both gardens and go green early. They are also the route people use with bins, bicycles and shopping, which makes the condition of the surface a real safety question and, where the path is shared, a matter for both households. Sweeping is a holding measure. Restoring the surface takes pressure and a detergent suited to the material, and that work is arranged through pressure washing prices in Wimbledon.

Arranging work on a shared boundary

Boundary jobs are quoted on the length and height of the run and on whether both sides can be reached, since cutting one face from a ladder is a slower and more expensive operation than cutting both from open ground. Access to the neighbouring garden, where it is needed, is agreed in advance rather than on the day. Late summer and winter are the sensible seasons once nesting has finished. Wider garden care in the borough is described at our gardening in Merton, and the full range of rounds appears at our garden maintenance team.