We had a similar situation with one of our neighbors. We had Superior Fence & Rail install a 6 ft. tall vinyl fence to give us the privacy we needed. They did an excellent job on the installation and the fence looked fantastic. Thankfully, I don't have to look at my neighbor's junky yard anymore. It was a pretty big investment so we did our homework before we purchased but this was the best solution we found. Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Superior Fence

Can you not call the city and complain? Ours had ordinances against leaving that kind of clutter out. They consider it in the same category as overly tall grass and weeds.

Have you already tried asking the new neighbors if they could clear the clutter? Maybe they are still getting settled in and have yet to get rid of the moving boxes and old clutter. I'd try asking them politely to deal with it before getting all bent out of shape, or adding a fence. If this doesn't work, a phone call to the landlord also requesting some help in a pleasant way might work. Try bringing over a welcome to the neighborhood platter of cookies or something to soften them up first...

Warning: bucket of cold water coming.

I am really tired of complaints about people with ugly yards, big RVs, and clutter. Until the last two years, I have ALWAYS had an ugly yard, and tons of clutter. There were reasons - I'm not going to go into them here, but if some neighbour had knocked on my door and said, please, would you fix your yard so I don't have to look at it, I would have vented some of the myriad frustrations that MADE ME UNABLE TO COPE WITH MY YARD IN THE FIRST PLACE onto them, and with pleasure.

If someone tells me how they want my property to look, they are functioning with two major misconceptions. One, that I am arranging my property to suit them (I'm not) and two, that I'm arranging my life to suit them (I'm not). If I have an RV, it's because I want one, and it has a function in my life, even if it is only to maintain a fantasy that someday I might be able to take a break from the myriad demands and burdens of life and go on a trip. A car carcase out back may similarly be the embodiment of someone's dream of freedom, prestige, or power. If my house badly needs painting or my shed needs to be upkept a little better, but I'm not getting to it, you can bet I have a reason that is important to ME that it is not getting done and that I will continue to determine how I spend my time based on MY needs, and not YOURS. I may be inside raising my children, I may be working to help family back in the old country, I may be dealing with any kinds of trauma and dysfunction in my family or with my health that YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT. Even if I am just a lazy slob drinking beer and watching TV, that is, unfortunately for you, my privilege. That pile of clutter or the state of my siding is, in short, NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

So, Ymaddox, who I like so far and for whom I have every sympathy in your quest to have a pretty environment, I would suggest that you consider the problem in the context of YOUR property only. You do not need to judge your neighbour in order to solve this problem, but the thing is, most of us do not consider a view of the neighbours a problem until we see something that we don't like.

You can control your view to the limits of your property and no further. That is the sad truth of property ownership. So, do you arrange the perimeter of your property so that you are not affected by what lies beyond, whatever that may be? If so, you need a fence/trellis/shrubbery boundary that leaves you in perfect isolation no matter who your neighbours are. But isolation means you can't benefit from the good as well as being protected from the bad, though if the worst these people do is have clutter on their driveway, sheesh, then you live an awfully protected life. If they had a meth lab, or have loud parties till all hours all summer, or you had to listen to them beating each other up, or they did target practice in the back yard, well, then you've got problems.

All those, and some other problems more in keeping with landscaping, are issues that have your neighbours reaching across the property line to control your life, in which case you are more than justified in trying to do something about it. But when it comes to their clutter or how they look or what they have, then you are reaching across the property line and trying to control their lives, and this I find intolerant and intolerable. What's next: they're too fat and don't look good enough for you, so you're going to ask them to go on a diet?

In short: design and plant a nice shrub border, using lots of evergreens.

KarinL

Karin1: wow, glad you got that off your chest. But realize that when people on the threads are talking about their neighbors collections, that they are also venting in a safe and healthy way.

ymaddox: I think that is an eyesore but probably someone probably just trying to get over moving. You could put up a temporary trellis with flower pots to grow something up.

Now if you talking neighbors mess...you should see the new renters next door. Nice people with 2 foster children...but they have 2 cars in the garage and 4 in the yard and driveway. They have a trailer full of trash sitting right on my garden edging. Their trash is full of something dead and nasty smelling that hits our front door. They pull up another trailer or two each week and have 3 day garage sale and take out very little stuff and leave most piled in their back yard. Right it is their business. I asked them to remove the trailer from the garden edging but have only been friendly otherwise. I am thinking about driving rebar into the edge of my garden and hanging sailcloth on it to hide the obvious filth. Several neighbors are and will call to report the garage sale cause the people come and park in other driveways and block others. No sense in getting too upset about it cause they are the kind of people who get moved from rental to rental because of their habits.

Reminder: asking for suggestions to hide eyesores go on a list like this. Conversation about it should go over to the conversation side of GardenJunk. It is well used and well liked. A great place to vent or ask for personal help.

Wow. This from the person who told everybody the right way to ask questions on the forum? I can't believe me eyes. Maybe if you had left out the capital letters Karin, it might not read like somebody just snapped. Sore spot there. Clutter, who knew? Take a deep breath, it's going to be ok.

Me, I would offer to help "unpack". Sometimes people just need an extra pair of hands and some neighborly help. Honestly, around here, if it sat around unattended too long it would get carted off by the local scavengers.

It is beyond a matter of one man's garbage being another's treasures. Most cities have building codes and other ordinances that prohibit precisely the type of garbage displayed in the photo, even if the garbage does assist the occupant in his/her pursuit of "freedom". Ditto for the carcasses that have been advocated, which may also implicate more than one health code. It actually is within neighboring property owners' rights to seek enforcement of the very laws that are intended to protect owners' investments in their properties. Freedom of exression only goes so far. When it unreasonably infringes on another's enjoyment of use of their property and at the same time, consitutes a legal violation, then more power to the neighbor who takes a stand.

I always thought of gardening as a creative outlet, and the gardenweb as a cool way to share and learn.

Ymaddox, you have taken some lumps, with hit and run trolling and other venting, but hang in there! This is a free forum for expression for everybody.

well if it were getting situated from moving in that would be one thing. However, that is trash...the reason i know is their cats and dogs tears it all up and it blows in my yard...is it their right of freedom of expression for me to have to pick up sanitary napkins, i don't think so. We have had trouble with them placing things on my fence, meaning junk, their old door they took off and replaced etc...that in my opinion is totally rude. I did not put that kind of money into a privacy fence for someone to stack their junk up against or throw their tires against and tear up. if it were the fact that they just were moving in and getting situated completely understandable...not the case. I think there is a certain amount of etiquette in a neighborhood, especially if your renting in a neighborhood full of homeowners. The exact same people who's kids were cursing and telling each other to suck this and that and when we mentioned it because it was to the point of intolerable was told that they would have them quiet down but they were allowed to say whatever they like. This is the point that i say HOLY COW, because that completely blew me away, but each to their own as long as i don't have to hear it. My children had better never represent me in that manner where i can hear it and i have 3 the oldest 19 youngest 12, i can't say how they may act when not in my presence but they had better never let something like those children were saying come out of their mouth within ear shot of mom and they know it. I also believe that i have a right to resale value on my home, i did not purchase my home with intentions of staying here my whole life...therefore i expect when i go to sell it i don't have sandford and son living next door, because if i was looking to buy a home i sure am going to be looking at the surrounding homes and their upkeep. Not planning on doing that tomorrow but the fact is i think if you live in a neighborhood you should expect to keep things picked up...you don't have to be out in your yard all the time improving, but keep things presentable. It seems common sense to me if your dogs tear up your trash one week when you leave it stacked in front of your garage door...most probably they are going to do it every week, and does that leave the burden of picking up the mess to your neighbors...i dont think so. My back yard right now looks horrid because we are doing some things as money and time allots...i understand these things, but not throwing your bags of trash in front of your garage door for everyone else to have to put up with.
karin this is why i asked this question regarding some type of shrubbery etc...so i don't have to look at the unsightly mess. But it does become my problem when their mess intrudes on my life...tears my things up that i worked very hard for and their crap blows over in my yard. Seems to be a ongoing problem with the two rented houses in my neighborhood...they have the attitude they don't own it so why should they care. If this board is true to form it has been said that basically your home and garden is a extension of who you are...i tend to agree with this. Rent or not you should take a little pride in your home and property. I don't want to control anyone else's life but i sure don't want them intruding on mine in a negative manner.

what is even funnier is that everyone assumes that these people are just moving in. So what does that say about the condition of the home considering they have been there awhile.

You didn't say it comes into your yard, and your original post somehow does suggest it is a new situation. As I said, in fact, you are absolutely within your rights to deal with anything that comes across the property line. As someone who has to pick up other peoples' condoms off my street from time to time (though I don't HAVE to I prefer to do so when expecting company or when they're right where I park), I fully sympathize.

I think fencing is your best choice, though fences are prone to the sort of abuse you mentioned. But that is the fence fulfilling its function. Stuff leaned against it is at least invisible to you and not in your yard. At the front you might build a short privacy fence with a shrubbery in front (so the shrubs will get light up top), and in fact from your other thread I think this would be a design enhancement.

The visual garbage and the verbal garbage are, unfortunately, the same type of issue. You can't control their behaviour, you can only address how it's affecting you. You probably can't stop them from swearing or collecting their garbage outside. But you can request that none of it come across the property line.

And Catkim, good call! To me it's a consistent quest, though; the urge to appreciate the humanity of others. Seems to me that people have enough in life to contend with without having to also look beautiful for their neighbours. And as originally presented here, that is what the expectation was.

And since I live in a light industrial area and have some highly cluttered neighbours, I have little beauty around me in any direction other that what we've (finally) created in our yard, it does drive me a little off the edge when someone carps about not having a perfectly beautiful environment as far as the eye can see. Life just isn't beautiful for most people, and if we have property on which we can create a little for ourselves, seems to me we should appreciate our luck no matter what is around us.

KarinL

Might call them and ask them to remove their garbage from your yard. It is not your job to pick up after them. If they don't I might seriously consider talking to the health department. Garbage is not the same as clutter. It is a health issue.

karin i quite honestly did not expect this thread to take the turn of events it did is why i said nothing about the trash =). After rereading my post i realize it does sound like they just moved in, not what i was tring to convey but it surely sounded like that, sorry.

I think the first condom i had to pick up i most probably would have went off, omg some people are just nasty! you know i really dont expect people to do things pleasing to me, presentable is perfectly fine although that surely is going to vary from person to person. What i do expect is when you purchase a home and i have been here for about 16 years and until recently was a nice place to live. But anyway what i expect is other people to be gracious. i really don't want to force my lifestyle down anyone else's throat and i expect the same. So if my dog is barking at 10pm and people are trying to sleep i try to bring him in, that is neighborly who can sleep with a dog barking all night. If my kids are outside being yahooo's i go out and have them tone it down. It just common courtesy i think. Don't plant flowers because i like flowers, but do keep your trash picked up. I should expect some resale value out of my home someday...and i guarantee if someone came and the next door neighbor has trash piled up a mile on their garage door and both a second and third viewing it is still there that is a good guarantee they are that way all the time. Most probably someone is not going to want to purchase your home. A home is a investment and a huge one at that. This neighborhood was fine until two particular homes were purchased for renting and since there has not been one family move in that has not caused problems...if it was just me complaining i would understand but many in the neighborhood complain, so i don't think i am too far off base.

as far as life not being beautiful for most people i guess it is what you take from it. Maybe they are looking in the wrong place for happiness. We all have stories of despair in our lives...my dh got injured over 3 years ago on the job a back injury and we have been fighting for his disability ever since...it has been pure **** and he was 32 when he got hurt and lives in constant pain even with medication. Thank goodness i had at least a decent career, but go from two income to one with a family of five and see how that tightens your belt. We have made it and continue to, don't look for sympathy and don't want a hand out...you find out real quick that everyone lives above their means. And then most cry about how hard life is...it is just what you make it.

Isn't it funny that is only takes one bad neighbor to ruin the street, people move away because of them and more houses become rentals, but also it can take one neighbor to improve the street as well. I've seen streets that were in real bad shape until someone moves in and starts improving and then it seems like all the other houses start improvements as well. like keeping up with the jones'. but i have no problem in tattling to the code people. trash is nasty. my nemesis is the cigarette butts. eww.

We do all have our crosses to bear, ymaddox, and my sympathies on your husband's injury. Sorry you happened to be the nth posting on screening out the neighbours that touched off my personal firestorm!

There are threads all over the forums about nasty neighbours, neighbours whose bad habits do extend across the property line, like yours. I hope you can find allies in either the landlord or some enforcement agencies, or find a way to deal with the people productively.

KarinL