Your neighbors may be trying to help and improve the area for their benefit as well. I see perennials in your picture, so maybe it’s not a recent image depicting the additions by your neighbor, if there are any (I also am having difficulty distinguishing your area versus theirs). Regardless, if it makes you feel uncomfortable and you do not want them planting there, you should politely tell them so. Adverse possession is a legal doctrine where someone can gain title to someone else’s land. It takes years, and may not be at issue here, but it happens.

Niki, I hope you come back! You have a perfect right to do as you please with the space. I can tell from your post you know how to handle it nicely and keep the peace. It will be fine. :-)

Omg! For once I agree with the bluntness of Sophie Wheeler’s advice. ; )

You need to chill. I thought before seeing the photo that they were coming into your yard or something. Not okay. But really? This little patch?

I’d be kind and friendly and talk to them about the plants, how long they’ve been doing it, etc. Be a neighbour. Once you’ve established a base for good neighbor relations (SO important), I’d talk in a conversational way about ideas and plans you want to implement. This is a less awkward way of establishing ownership.

If they don’t seem to get your point you could ask them what they’d like you to do with the plants if you have to move them.

If you’re living in close quarters continuity of materials and plants can often look better than a mish mash. Why not work with your neighbour to create something beautiful together? My neighbour and I share a garden bed on our border and have a lot of fun with it.

O.P. is under no responsibility to do anything with the bed to suit these or any other neighbors, unless this is an H.O.A. development. If the aforementioned discussion with the gardening neighbors was intended to make it clear that the arrangement with the previous occupant was no longer in effect, then if in fact any additional gardening in that bed has occurred since then the new property owner is being defied and ignored.

The re-definition of the property line and the mere existence of this thread would tend to indicate that O.P. is wanting the volunteer gardening to stop. The next thing is to find out whether any additional "help" has in fact been given since the discussion.

I have four sets of adjacent property owners here where at least one member of the household has felt the need to come on my place and do things, without prior discussion. In fact just yesterday I had occasion to notice herbicide damage to a rare maple I cannot easily replace, because it is located near a fence line. A fence line that the couple believes they are legally entitled by municipal code to maintain on both sides, including the side on my property. (When I asked at the appropriate city offices about this once they seemed to almost burst out laughing at the suggestion that the city would ever grant a property owner the right to go onto another's property without permission).

Also of course whenever somebody who does not own it is on a property there is always the possibility of something happening where terms like law suits and liability become relevant.

Embothrium, although we can all sympathize with your situation which sounds frustrating to say the least, it doesn't correlate with this dilemma.

Nothing in the photo posted indicates that the neighbours have continued gardening this plot other than possibly to weed it, although the words indicate that they've planted several things. There are no annuals, no half-hardy perennials that just got set back out, no new perennials that were recently added.

I think Niki's absence since Tuesday is a good indication that she has realized that possibly she was holding them responsible for acts they didn't commit. Or maybe not, who knows.

As for the pavers, tearing up perfectly good pavers just to add different ones to an area that is clearly adjacent is silly. If you tear up the pavers, pour concrete to match the driveway so there is continuity with your side rather than theirs.

Notice my first paragraph contains the phrase

if in fact any additional gardening in that bed has occurred

Also cannot agree that there is no similarity between this situation and what I have encountered here, all the more so if the unwanted "help" has definitely continued after steps were taken by the property owner to indicate it was not wanted.

It's the same as the lawn edging thread, where the lawn met a neighboring driveway. In that each party is responsible for their own property and that is the extent of it. As long as relevant codes and laws are complied with what, exactly, a body does with their own land is up to them and not the neighbors. This is why H.O.A. neighborhoods exist, they are for that segment of the market who find it necessary to live where ideas they themselves share about property use and maintenance are enforced by a committee.

Niki, all I can give you for advice is:

• expect the best of your neighbours. It's highly unlikely that they are trying to annex your land.
• take your turn weeding the plot, mowing the grass, and shoveling/sweeping the walk. If they are elderly, do it every time.
• don't tear up those pavers until and unless you are going to redo your driveway, then make this area match the new drive.
• add some annuals to the plot, something easy like pansies, marigolds, or impatiens.

Suppose you become aware a neighbor thinks your car isn't being kept clean enough or you should wash your windows more often. Would you now undertake a routine to conform to their expectations? I see no reason whatsoever why the O.P. should continue on with the gardening of their own bed that the neighbor is/was doing, just because it was being done before the O.P. bought the place.

Doubtless the habitual trespassers around me would be appalled if I responded in kind, making unauthorized herbicide applications, pulling plants out and cutting shrubs back on their lots, without their permission.

Actually, a closer analogy would be... "My neighbor washes my filthy car for free? Whatever shall I do!?!!??" Same answer,use your words and a bit of kindness.

Being a good neighbour means cooperating nicely on shared spaces. It doesn't mean changing your values to suit theirs.

Examples:

-My mom and her neighbour take turns mowing the strip of lawn between their driveways. Now that she's getting older and the neighbours are a young couple, they do it more often.

-Again with my mom, her neighbours often clear the end of her driveway after the snowplow goes by. She doesn't growl at their kids when they play in her yard.

-We share a mailbox post with our neighbour across the road. We take turns weedwacking the grass around it.

Where can I find one of those neighbours who washes your dirty car without asking?

@Janelle you might have to recruit a 3 or 4 year old. I won't vouch for the results though!

Have more conversation with the neighbors. Find out what their favorite annual bloomer is and buy them one while you're buying annuals to pop into the bed they're helping keep up. Take a photo of the blooming bed with you and ask the garden center for help in selecting appropriate plants that will make the neighbor's plants look their best (tulips don't have a long bloom time.) Ask the neighbors to help you place them properly to enhance the plants they've already put in. You'll find out where/if they've planted anything that has yet to come up, and hopefully you'll learn that they haven't. Then get busy planning a serious fall remodel of the bed. The remodel should include removal of their pavers and replacement with brick to match yours or concrete to match the drive, or other material to match whatever is going on leading to your front door. If their plants are not in your plan, offer to transplant them wherever they'd like. That's being neighborly, kind and firm at the same time.

Well said, deco! "Kind but firm" worked well for me with a neighbor. In my case, she truly needed heavy on the firm.

I'm still a little unclear...is this a shared area or all Niki's? Either way I bet Niki will handle it fine.

Depiction provided by O.P. at the start - along with thread title - made it clear this is viewed by the O.P. as invasion of their property by somebody coming from well off the property, at random and without discussion each time.

This is similar to a hungry infant inappropriately grabbing your boob. Smile, laugh, and let it slide, please:

Where is the 'cut' paver property line? This is sort of confusing. Clarify please.

Plant some chives there, both families would use some for cooking.

We don't know where the problem lies within the picture. But if it is in the picture, this tiny spot is not large enough to have more than a single theme going on. If it is 50/50 shared, then find a way through a nice conversation to agree on a theme. As a newby, be willing to bend. If they have an interest in more than 50% and you less, then let them have it unless they are tired of it and want to give it up to you. If the white rock is yours, put it elsewhere. It doesn't go with anything.

It's a very small area.. and I would tend to agree with Yardvaark in terms of maybe just letting them continue to maintain that. Either way - I probably would not have much more conversation with the neighbors. If you feel that they are in violation of agreements, when you are ready to embark on your plans for the property grounds, consider hiring a gardener. The gardener can remove their existing plants, if necessary - and pot them and present them graciously. The gardener can also suggest plants that will complement what is already there - since it is a small area. And the gardener can maintain it moving forward and remove anything that does not belong there. Beyond that I would not focus much more attention on this plot or these neighbors. I would either let them have it, and continue to maintain that area or let a gardener deal with it. That's what I would do, and focus my attentions elsewhere.

Thanks for the picture with the red dividing line. So we assume that your property is on the LEFT side of the line?

Are you thinking that you also own part of the neighbor's house? Because extending that red line sure looks like it. Didn't you get a survey at closing? Who mows or pays for the mowing?

Your red line goes right through a door. Nothing makes sense unless you tell us what side is yours and what side is the neighbor's.

That said, I think that you need to take a firm hand about assuming responsibility for your part of the shared garden. Ask for their advice about what to plant, then you do it. Then you water the bed, pull the weeds, deadhead the flowers, etc.

What I'm looking at are not new plants. They've been there for at least one season, but likely longer. Peonies, tulips, and irises are all bulbs that die to the ground in the fall and emerge in the spring. That's what you're looking at—spring growth.

Hi Niki,

Greetings from a fellow New Yorker!

Are you out in Queens, like Forest Hills? I think your new property is huge!

It sounds like you're upset and concerned, this is your first home purchase, etc.

You need to buck up and say your piece face to face if this is so troubling to you, I'm betting that the neighbors are elderly and know everyone on the block? Ugh.

Present it like you're doing them the favor, I like the post with the Niki's Garden thing. But be prepared for a backlash, they will probably be hurt and offended. They're not looking at "the property line" they're looking at "the garden," it's not so granular to them.

omg,,,we're talking about a 2' long flower bed? it looks like they have the far right portion, where the 4 tulips are sprouting? is that their side? this is ridiculous. They're trying to make it look nice. you just said you don't have time to plant anything so what's the fuss? if they didn't plant tulips, and left it alone, it would just be dirt? weeds? the rose bush?

after the tulips die back, do you plan on planting anything? are you going to out there and water and pull weeds, etc? just enjoy it. it's not like they're setting up a bbq and picnic table on your side of the lawn. it's a small flower bed. if you do want to plant something, then just tell her, "after the tulips die back, I'd like to plant my own flowers, so could you keep that side clear? thanks!"

send the elderly out my way. I'm on a 9,000sq ft lot with every single inch covered in plants, flowers and grass. I'd love the extra help.

You need to buck up and say your piece face to face if this is so troubling to you, I'm betting that the neighbors are elderly and know everyone on the block? Ugh.

I got a chuckle out of that, Janie (What is it with old folks in Queens, anyway?) As the saying goes, fences make good neighbors.

Sammy, I was staying with my sister in Jackson Heights many years ago, she had an elderly lady neighbor that swept the whole block, argued with the garbage men and smoked cigars in her slippers. I adored her

Janie,

She didn’t by any chance live on 81st Street between 34th and 35th, did she?

;)

Sammy,

LOL! 77th st btwn 35th and 37th. After yelling at the garbage men, she'd go join her posse and sit in front the of Post Office on 37th where they'd smoke cigars :)

I'm seriously cracking up right now!

By having the existing pavers cut, (by requesting the property line be identified) it appears you cut away your own walkway. Do you plan to use your neighbor's walkway on this side of the house? Without their permission?

If you're not careful, you'll end up alienating your neighbor -- one that appears to be, geographically at least, a very close neighbor ... unnecessarily.

What is your purpose? If, this is about claiming your turf and you do need a walkway on that side of your house, bite the bullet and spend the money to build your own walkway now -- even if that is just filling the space with cement or concrete or gravel.

If your objection is to the kinds of plants that are there and if don't need a walkway and want to plant your own flowers/plants there, do it.

You could reclaim your space by removing the plants that are there and putting them in cheap containers to give them back to your neighbor on the day that, and as, you plant a single shrub with mulch around it in that space.

Suezbell, I think you must’ve missed this:

Also to be clear, the pavers were cut by the previous owners before we closed on the house after we requested the property line to be visible (they chose to cut the pavers).

Requesting the line be identified resulted in the pavers being cut. I suppose the sellers could have just painted a line.

Why don't you find some nice colorful annuals and plant them? Maybe petunias or similar? It sounds to me you are waiting for permission. Just go ahead and take charge of your garden.

I agree with other posters, would be a shame to destroy the plants already there. Offer to help dig out if you don't want to keep.

I always think roses need lavender. Pop one in front of the rose bush. It's evergreen so it will be interesting all year, and it requires minimal care other than a yearly haircut.

Then go for it! If they say something you can cross that bridge when it happens.

Just put something, anything annual in there for now, until you decide the ultimate look you want. Like I suggested before: pansies, marigolds, and impatiens are all basically foolproof. Lavender is also easy, just stick it in the ground and watch it flourish. It will live for years if trimmed yearly. Posierosie suggested petunias which are also very easy. And super fun to deadhead! (that means taking off the dried up, finished blooms)

I think we all thought you were suggesting removing what is there. I know I for sure did. Sorry about that.

I would just start planting there what you want, I doubt they will say anything, if they do just make polite regular neighbor conversation about what you envision for the space and see what all they recommend about what has flourished in the past. And I also recommend roses and lavender, my favorite!

This may be a neighborhood where this IS a considerable amount of front lawn / garden! Looking at the new photos posted by Niki, it seems like the area would benefit by redesigning the landscape. The neighbor does not appear to have superior skills. Maybe a new post looking for design options, considering your side alone and an option your neighbor could build on.

April