The Scourge of Suburbia

Enjoyment of our back garden has been reduced in recent years by some large trees in an adjacent property. They made the place dull and blocked the sun in the evenings. The trees were severely pruned 12 years ago but have grown rapidly since then. The owner agreed that they should be pruned again but claimed she couldn't afford it. So we arranged for the work to be done. My good lady used her diplomatic skills to get contributions from other neighbours who would benefit and on the day the tree owner was also shamed into coughing up. It was quite a large job - three men took all day to do the work. The branches were chipped and a local farmer came to take away the bigger stuff to burn in his boiler. So everybody ended up happy.

The trees in question are a species that cause a lot of strife between neighbours in this country. They are Leyland Cypress better known by their Latin name Leylandii. They are an evergreen coniferous tree popular because of the speed that they grow - 3-5 feet per year. The trouble is that they keep on growing to over 100 feet tall which is too big for most gardens.

The tree is a hybrid that was accidentally created in this country in the mid 19th century from two conifers from the Pacific coast of North America - the Monterey Cypress from the central coast of California and the Nootka Cypress that ranges from northern California to Alaska. The trees were planted and cross bred at the Leighton Hall Estate in Wales.

The problems caused by Leylandii are such that they were responsible for a new law - High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013. This sets out a method of resolving disputes. But this can be slow & expensive and it's better to do it, as we did, by agreement.

2003

Two weeks ago

Tim-ber!

Now

Evening sun

This bough grew in 12 years

To commemorate the occasion