We also needed privacy along a property line. I wanted something fast growing but also evergreen as I wanted year round privacy. We decided on Green Giant arborvitae. They do not look like the typical conical shaped arborvitae, but are a little more open, airy, and free flowing. From my research they are virtually the only variety that are deer resistant. They were about 18-24" when planted last April and averaged a foot of new growth last year. When established, they are supposed to grow 3-5 ft per year. They do need a lot of watering the first year or so until they get settled. With this past hard winter, we had some significant deer damage on half, but hopefully those will recover and I will spray with deer solution just to be sure. We ordered from The Botany Shop http://www.botanyshop.com/index.htm . Prices were really good and tree condition on arrival was great. Hope this helps.

I would start with where did it come from, and how long has it been there? Did the neighbor clear-cut an area and have it piled onto the side? If so, it may just be stage 1 of a removal process that they may intend to complete in the spring. On the other hand, if they are cleaning up their wooded property, only to have it piled next to yours, it is definitely not the right thing to do. I would check with the city to see what is allowable to get some information first. Then talk the neighbor in a light-hearted way to feel them out-"Hey, that's some huge pile of trees you got there! How many homes for skunks and snakes you trying to make?" and see what he says. If this is the first time they've lived near woods they may think this is acceptable behavior, that everyone does it. He may not realize how his actions bothered you. Was there an alternative more acceptable location where he could have put the debris? That he can move it to for now? Is there anyone else you can talk to, maybe a neighbor on the other side, that may have some input or information as to why this was done? Until and unless you hear it from him, I would not assume it was done maliciously, or that the current state is the final expected result, but do be prepared with information from the city as to what is allowed and what is not when you speak to him. I'd personally prefer to see tree debris over the mess that is in MY neighbor's yard! Good luck. Beatice

Dee Can and Buttercupia, thanks for your thoughts. It does seem to me that everyone really does begin to see the delima when they really consider entering another person's property. I always intended to tend to my hedge, but didn't see until the summer after having moved in in the winter that there was no way simply from my side. The only way is to enter the neighbor's fenced in yard. Well, you there have the beginning of legal problems and logistics. I would love to move the hedges and be done, but I just bought a house and that's not a possibility right now financially. I wrote because it was expressed to me strenuously by many that in this situation of a "shared" hedge and the dual benefit of privacy, the respective parties tend their side. Not only that. This is in essence perimeter growth which all those around are trimming without complaint, including myself, so why the difference? This to me is a major point. Contrary to the impression some have garnered about what I "want" to do, I spent last summer doing just what I described, entering their yard and trimming the hedge - avoiding the dog, calling ahead, and even climbing a fence with the help of a ladder. I know we can discuss making it easier to get in, but I needed to know if going to this extreme seemed out of place. At the strong urging of friends did I write to see what common wisdom there might be in this group or common experience. I actually turned to the "Shrub" forum in remembering the advice to do so last year from another section of this site. It does make many pause, it seems, to have to enter another's yard. In any event, I wanted to know what was common when faced with this situation and what prevailing wisdom there might be before speaking further with the neighbor. Thanks so much for your help.

When our neighbors put up a similar fence I went over and asked them what they were going to plant, if anything next to it and asked them if they had any preferences for things they didn't want me to plant next to it. I asked them if they would object to me hanging anything on the fence, like bird feeders or trellises, etc. We talked about it because even though the fence belongs to them, my property was within a few inches of it and they had to know that I was going to plant things there. They appreciated that I consulted them about it and that I cared about how they wished to maintain their fence. When their family and friends were visiting and cooking out in the back yard, I made sure not to run the mower or to make a lot of noise that would interfere with their get-together. I never chose those times to trim trees, or to spray paint my shed, or to smoke a large hunk of meat. I never looked over the fence when they were outside, but if I was doing something, like painting my house on a ladder, if I saw them outside, I greeted them in a friendly manner and went about my business. When my neighbors decided to use Roundup on a gravelled area on their side yard that was adjacent to one of my flower beds I explained to them why I didn't want them to do that. The man explained to me that he had a prosthetic limb and couldn't pull the weeds, so I offered to pull them for him so his yard would look nice. I pulled his weeds in that gravelled area (about 12'x40') for nearly 8 years. We lived in Westminster, Colorado when we had these neighbors and as many people will know, in Colorado they have ordinances about keeping the snow shovelled off your sidewalk. We knew that with his bad leg and his wife severly overweight, that he wouldn't be able to shovel his walk. So DH went out to shovel that first big snow and went all the way up to the corner. But the next morning we heard the 8hp motor of a snowblower and there was our neighbor on his riding snow-blower, and he did the whole street. It's been said that good fences make good neighbors, but I think that good neighbors make good neighbors. I'm not naive, I know that some people are just bast*rds, but sometimes one act of kindness can beget another. It's worth a try. Cheryl