Do the branches hang over on his property? If that's the case, my understanding is that he has the right to trim anything hanging over his side. However, I do think it would have been polite and neighborly to ask first!

It can be a real liability to a 'neighborhood' to have rental properties because it can often bring a transient and unsettled feeling. I've been on both sides of that and can identify with you both.

It can be frustrating being a renter, particularly if you like to 'do' things around the house (inside and out) and enjoy feeling anchored and connected to a place. And with beautiful spring weather drawing everyone outdoors perhaps that feeling is heightened. If his yard is particularly shady (something he might appreciate more in August than March), then I can just imagine wanting to clip everything away and invite the sun in. I don't know how accurate my sense of this is without being there, but I think after the shock of seeing someone clipping my precious magnolia wore off these thoughts might cross my mind.

Not an excuse for him not consulting you first, but just trying to put myself in his shoes. Perhaps if you have a pretty place to sit in your yard you could invite him over for some iced tea and a getting-to-know-you chat. That is the best defense against future misunderstandings and uncooperative behavior.

I wouldn't get stuck on etiquette and miss the opportunity to make a friend of this neighbor.
Besides, I doubt he reads Miss Manners.

Romandub's right ~ whatever hangs over onto his side of the line, he can cut. If he cut more than that, I'd for damn sure tell him to not do it again. Hopefully, that will be the end of it and you can do what DragonflyWings suggested ~ make a friend out of him. But if that's not the case and he gives you a hard time about it, insisting on cutting on your side of the line, tell him that doing so is destruction of property (it really is), then call the cops.

But again, hopefully it won't come to that. I really hope he quits and you can go DragonFW's route.

This is good advice and I do know that whatever hangs over is fair game for the shears. There isn't a fence on this front corner, so I thought I'd tell him where that line is. Honestly, if he'd have just called over and said would you mind? I would have said go ahead, it was just seeing him on my yard, under my tree trimming it that took me off guard.

Dragonfly, the first day he moved in I went over, introduced myself told him that our house was the place to come if he needed any tools or a ladder or anything. I also offered to introduce my dogs to him so they'd get to know him faster and promised to keep their noise down, and if they were a problem to just come and tell me.

I don't think he particularly likes my cottage style garden since he's cut everything down into small neat squares or it is gone. I'm sure I'm his nightmare neighbor.

Trust me, I won't let some tree trimming sour a new neighbor relationship, just wondered what y'all would do and if I was being too sensitive.

Is it clear where the property line is? Maybe he didn't know. You can always put up cheap folding garden fencing $2 each from Walmart. That's what I had to do to keep my well-intentioned neighbor from scalping my sloping yard every week.

yeah...this sounds like a difference in gardening styles. He probably thought he was doing you a favor! ha! My old neighbor was like this one. Everything cut within an inch of it's life. I was over there today and he had some tree trimming crew there. They were dying to prune my trees. No thank you. I want my trees to look alive...not like manniquins!

Cynthia, it sounds like you've opened the door to a friendship and it really is up to him to respond in kind.
It certainly sounds like you two have VERY different styles. He sounds more....er.....minimalist...lol.

We can speculate but there are no right/wrong answers.
Each situation is unique depending on the persons involved.
You are there and can feel things out. So really the best advice (other than discussing legalities) is to trust your instincts about him and the situation.

(Seems like a Venus retrograde kinda thing, eh?)

Ben Franklin said "good fences make good neighbors"!

I have neighbors, father I like, son I can't stand, that live next door. It is a second home for them with their main residence in San Antonio. The father used to live here most of the time, so he ate dinner with us regularly for about 2 years. The son is 58 but has the mentality of maybe a 13 year old. He is very spoiled and demands that he gets his way. The son intervened and has alienated all of his father's friends down here and doesn't allow him to come down unless he is with him.

A while back the father asked if I would trim one of my trees because it got in the way when his son mowed. I said yes, and I contacted my arborist to come trim the tree. He said he was busy, but would get out next week to do the trimming.

I told the father what was going on and left for a few hours. When I came back home that afternoon, they were gone, and my tree had been trimmed, but it was not trimmed properly. I was so mad. My arborist came out the next week and made the proper "repairs" on my tree.

Also the son would take a weed wacker on his side of the chain link fence and chop down all my vines. When I confronted him about it, he said my dog did it, to which I replied "Oh, I didn't know my dog had a weed wacker!" Also the son took a weed wacker to the vines on the fence on the other side of the yard which left huge gaps in the fence. The neighbors on that side immediately put their house on the market the very next day.

Since then the son has become impossible, so I put up a 6' cedar privacy fence on both sides of my yard, and out front I put up a cattle wire fence so I can grow vines without having them chopped down by neighbors that don't like vines or anything other than grass.

Sorry to rant on, but it just makes me so mad that neighbors can't get along. I really think that the son was out and out jealous of his father's friendship with us. Remember Ben Franklin said "good fences make good neighbors"! So true! Good luck!

dragofly...I suspect you are right! This situation had definitely taken me back in time and I hope not to repeat that neighbor situation.

ltcollins: new neighbor has already cut all the vines on the cyclone fence between us. They are ivy and will likely come back. It must have taken him a long time. There was trumpet vine on the other side of his fence and it is cut back to a central stick. I'm not sure what this is all about. Regarding fences. I agree, unfortunately this area isn't cut out for a fence, but I might have to get creative. I'm sorry to hear about the son. Sounds like he really is angry about something.

Isn't it funn how folks want grass and nothing else? I know a couple and the husband loves to make a lovely lot. he planted a number of Japanese Maples. They sold their home and the new buyer removed them all and planted grass. It takes all kinds.

This morning I was feeding birds in the magnolia and I noticed he has made a nice line with the tip of a shovel to show the property line. That will likely suffice. My intent is to remain friendly and hope it goes away.

Actually I believe it was Robert Frost who said "fences make good neighbors" in his poem "The Mending Wall", but the sentiment is the same. The two neighbors rebuilt the wall together because it's about cooperation, even when what you're cooperating about is something that divides you. Did I mention that this is my favorite poem? :)

I imagine having made your feelings known to him it won't be so bad next time. Good luck!

Hey dallas!

I wasn't sure when I put the quote in, so I googled it, and Ben came up. But then I googled again, and a whole bunch of names came up including Frost!

Thanks for making me look further into the quote.

Quotes are recycled so much, some kin of Adam's probably said it first =P

I think it's a shame when people can't be polite and ask. Honestly, even if the tree was HALF in my yard, I'd ask. It's like what I do when I live in apartments, even if it's the middle of the day, if I want to hang a picture anywhere, I ask my neighbors if it's okay (if the baby is napping or whatever and the noise will wake him up). It just shows that you want to be polite and have a good relationship.

He is not a property owner;
he's a renter.
He has *NO* rights to trim anything without the permission of the property owner.

This kind of thing just boils all over me, & I forgot to say that, if I were in your position, after I told the guy to keep his pruners/shears/implements of all kinds to himself or get out his checkbook to pay damages, I'd send him a certified, registered letter, return receipt requested, saying the same thing, & send a copy to his landlord.

Meanwhile, I'd *call* his landlord (the person who actually owns the property & who *might* have a right to mutilate the part of my tree that overhangs his property) & let him know what's going on.

If you don't know the landlord's name or address, you can get it from county tax records, which are usually available online.

None of us has to allow ourselves or our property to be damaged so the vandal will think we're "good neighbors".

Cynthia,
After having a 100 year old American Elm butchered by a "neighbor" and subsequently expiring (the tree, not the neighbor, unfortunately), I can sympathize. Being nice is the best course of action--being a neighbor, being friendly, and requesting, not demanding, is the best avenue to follow.
However, if this "neighbor" persists in hacking away, please follow Sylvia's advice and contact the landlord. He is responsible for the actions of his tenant. Your magnolia was there before this self-styled arborist, and hopefull will be there after he moves on, preferably to where there are no trees.

This post is amusing and reminds me of what happened several months ago to us. Our electric company is "supposedly" replacing all of the electrical boxes in yards in our neighborhood and they had requested that we trim the hedge that we used to "screen" ours which sits right out on the corner of our corner property.
Of course we complied as they said work would start beginning of the year. (nope not yet either....) So there sits our hedges cut down completely to almost the ground save a for one in the front that DH just ran out of daylight on and saved for later.
That evening I am cooking dinner and look out our bay windows in our kitchen to see some man kneeling down with SCISSORS cutting on that last remaining hedge!!!!!! The sun had gone down and it was almost dark!
I first picked my jaw up off of the floor, then calmly walked out the door and asked him just what exactly he was doing? He states to me that he lives down the street(several streets) and had driven by and was appalled at that state of said bush and just had to come do something about it!!!!!!!

I hope you find common ground Cynthia and hopefully things don't get ugly. Keep us updated on your dilemma, hoping it has a great ending.

How dare he!! Holy cow, that's almost like someone coming along and shaving your dog.

"Holy cow, that's almost like someone coming along and shaving your dog." HaHA! *Giggle ~ snort ~ guffaw* snicker...

Thank you all for great support and humor. It is odd, isn't it? Isn't part of living in the world all about adjusting to each other and accepting differences? I mean, even if you live in one of those snooty Dallas subdivisions where they get upset about what make of truck sits in your drive way, at least they are up front about that and built a wall around themselves.

I wonder if this is more a male thing. My neighbor hasn't done anything sine marking the line. He's got lots to work on over there. Ivy and trumpet vines on the fence and the large bamboo-like nandinas should keep his loppers and sheers busy.

Sylvia, I didn't know that it had to be the landlord. This guy is a cop in a neighboring town so "the law" will mean something if it gets crazy.

The guy on his knees in the dark with sissors is bizarre. You really have to know that it's "his" problem at that point. Talk about obsessive compulsive. I wonder what else he does with those sheers throughout the growing seasons?

enjoying the rain and only gentle storm here
c

He has *no right* to touch anything that belongs to you, & I'd bet he knows it.

Don't delay one minute putting him on notice & documenting it, & if you have any problem with him, call on his boss & on the mayor of his town.