WWYD -- Neighbors never takes care of fallen leaves

[IDoDis]

Some background info:

Both us and our neighbors have been in our homes for almost 13 years (both bought the homes new). Our front yards are not grass -- they are xeroscaped landscaping which means there have medium-sized gravel mixed with large rocks instead of grass.

The neighbor was a single mom for years. When her tree was smaller and dropped the leaves, we used to just blow them up and mulch them like we did with our own tree's leaves. The neighbor's tree has grown two and a half times the size of ours -- ours is a Purple Leaf Plum and hers is something else that drops yellow leaves, so it's obvious which tree the leaves on the ground come from.

A couple of years ago, the neighbor got married, so now she had someone to help her with yard work. They asked us if they could borrow our blower to blow out their leaves. We were ecstatic! However, they only used the blower in their back yard, but left the leaves in the front yard to just blow away -- meaning they always blew into our yard because that's the way the wind blows. The next time we went to use our blower after they borrowed it, it was broken (a piece was missing from the bottom of it), so we just bought a new one.

Fast forward to now. The leaves are falling again. The neighbor's front yard is full of leaves and still there's probably 2/3 of the leaves still left on her tree. The leaves are already blowing into our yard, but our tree has not dropped any leaves yet, so we don't want to start blowing & mulching leaves yet.

In their defense, the leaves are not all down yet, so I can see if people want to wait until all of the leaves are down before cleaning them up, but this NEVER happens. That tree is huge now and will take us hours and several trash bags of leaves to clean up. Last year it took us a good 4 hours on two different days to get rid of all of their leaves. We also only get our trash picked up once a week and once our trash can is full, we can't leave extra lawn bags out. We have to pay to take those to the dump or keep them in our backyard and get rid of a bag a week until they are gone.

So what should we do this year about their leaves? I can understand getting rid of some that blow in our yard, assuming they are dealing with the leaves in their yard, but they NEVER do. They just leave them and eventually they all end up in our yard LOTS of them. Since their tree has gotten so big, we REALLY don't want to continue cleaning up their leaves which ALL blow into our yard.

Rocks and leaves don't mix because you can't just rake up the leaves easily. When left on the ground, the leaves get crunched up and fall in between the rocks. It's a pain in the caboose to get the leaves all up because rocks have to be moved, and we have a large ever-green ground-cover bush that the leaves get trapped under where we have to lift up the branches and blow out the leaves from every single spot on that bush. Sometimes there's a whole bag of leaves in that bush. The leaves also blow inside the middle of the bush that get trapped there that we can't blow out.

Should we go next door and politely ask that they clean their leaves up before they all blow in our yard? Should we just keep blowing the leaves back into their yard after they've blown into ours? Should we just continue to do ALL of the work and clean up all of their leaves? We are not close friendship-wise, but we do chat at times and do the neighborly wave when one of us drives by.

 

[Goofyluver]

Maybe you could send a little note:

"When there's a breeze, please be kind and clean up your leaves."


Honestly, I think it's worth a conversation. The worst that will happen when you approach them is that they ignore you and don't clean up their leaves. You're no worse off then you are now.

But, maybe just calling attention to this dilemna that you now have will be enough to kick them into gear. Sometimes ignorance is the best protection and maybe they just don't realize the impact this is having on you.

If you were our neighbor, we'd just bring over a pitcher and we'd all pitch in together.

 

[CowboyCO]

I think you should clean up the leaves that are in your yard and not ask the neighbors. Chalk it up as just a once a year inconvenience. They could be having late night parties, raging alcoholics or worse...

 

[Pakey]

Good luck. In our last house, we had this exact same problem. Talking resulted in the husband telling us the leaves didn't bother them. And after that he sat in a lawnchair and videotaped my son and I every time we did yardwork. I made sure we never stepped onto their property. We took care of those leaves every year until they moved and the new owner pulled out the trees.

We were on friendly terms until we suggested they might want to rake their own leaves. The husband never spoke to us after that; the wife still said hi.

 

[happygirl]

I have never understood why people do anything with leaves. We don't do anything with our leaves, I guess our neighbors must hates us

 

[golfgal]

How much extra time does it take for you to clear all of the leaves?

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

My next door neighbor's tree overhangs my yard and I'd guess at least 80% of his leaves fall in my yard. I don't have a tree so it's obvious where the leaves come from.

I wouldn't dream of saying anything to him about it.

 

[brockash]

I think you should clean up the leaves that are in your yard and not ask the neighbors. Chalk it up as just a once a year inconvenience. They could be having late night parties, raging alcoholics or worse...

ITA! Honestly, I get that it can be a pain for you, but really it's just part of your life. I guess if it bothers you that much, you could keep it in mind for the next place you decide to live, but otherwise there's not much you can do. Sure, it'd be great if your neighbor had the same priorities and felt the same as you, but they obviously don't, and you can't change that. I can't imagine ever going to a neighbor and telling them what to do, as long as it wasn't dangerous ect. I think it comes off rude and pretty entitled.

 

[IDoDis]

Maybe you could send a little note:

"When there's a breeze, please be kind and clean up your leaves."


Honestly, I think it's worth a conversation. The worst that will happen when you approach them is that they ignore you and don't clean up their leaves. You're no worse off then you are now.

But, maybe just calling attention to this dilemna that you now have will be enough to kick them into gear. Sometimes ignorance is the best protection and maybe they just don't realize the impact this is having on you.

If you were our neighbor, we'd just bring over a pitcher and we'd all pitch in together.

I love the note! Maybe I'll do that! I wish we were neighbors! Then I could come over for one of your wonderful meals!

How much extra time does it take for you to clear all of the leaves?

By the time they are all in our yard, it's a mess. They get in the bushes and on the side of the house. They have to be blown into a corner, sucked up, mulched, and bagged. If we wait for all of the leave to fall, many are already dried & crunched up. It takes hours to clean up, plus the cost of the trash bags and running our blower on and off for a few hours.

It's not just in the fall though. They also have a very large bush that never gets trimmed. It drops leaves in the spring & summer. That bush is right in line to our porch & front door (or front door is on a side wall that faces their yard). So our porch has leaves on it all year. I'm constantly sweeping up their leaves all summer. It's just a thousand times worse in the fall.

Last year the leaves that never blew from their yard stayed there all year. There weren't many since we cleaned up 95% of them. It's kind of a pet-peeve that has been irritating me more and more each year. DH says, "Ah, they are good neighbors, so don't push it." But then I have to nag him over and over to clean up the leaves and sometimes I end up doing it myself.

 

[LuLuO]

Our neighbors have a tree that drops a ton of leaves in our backyard. We don't say anything, we clean up our yard. I wouldn't risk an otherwise amiable relationship with my neighbors over some yard work.

 

[LuvLDM]

I wouldn't say anything to the neighbors, mostly because I really can't imagine ever being that irritated over leaves.

 

[Hannathy]

I have never understood why people do anything with leaves. We don't do anything with our leaves, I guess our neighbors must hates us

I agree. we mow them with the mower and mulch them but that is it, I certainly don't rake them.


One suggestion would be to put up a fence between you and the neighbor that would stop the leaves that are on the ground and are blowing into your yard.

 

[Gina]

I guess I'm weird -- I love it when the leaves fall. I happily leave mine there, and when my neighbor apologizes for their pine needles all over my driveway, I reassure them again that I truly love it -- makes it look all rustic.

 

[Coconut36]

I wouldn't say anything to the neighbors, mostly because I really can't imagine ever being that irritated over leaves.

My thoughts as well. I don't get the big deal. Clean up what is in your yard and don't worry about theirs.

Although I have to say the comment about them being in the OP yard because "that's the way the wind blows" made me laugh..apparently it only blow in one direction and that direction is the OP yard? I can't imagine living in a place where the wind blows only one direction and never any other.

 

[DebbieB]

I have no trees in either my front or back yard but get stuck cleaning up from neighbor's trees each fall. This year my brother came over and blew them from the driveway into the yard and mulched them all with the lawn mower. Easier than trying to bag them.

 

[Shleedogg]

I wouldn't say anything to the neighbors, mostly because I really can't imagine ever being that irritated over leaves.

This. Do they really bother you that much? Leaves on your front porch? This seems a little anal retentive to me.

Our neighbors tree is FULL of leaves and the majority of them drop in our yard, they have for the 5 years we've lived there. DH rakes them up once or twice in the fall. It takes him an hour or two each time. Not a big deal. Our neighbor has even offered to trim the branches over our yard voluntarily. We've declined the offer every time. We live in this climate, it's to be expected, like mowing the lawn. It's an act of nature, leaves fall, the wind blows. I guess I really just don't see the big deal. So the leaves crunch up between the rocks, they turn brown, don't they blend in? Don't they decompose under the snow? It's not like it's garbage blowing into your yard.

Say something if you must, but I personally feel like you're making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

[hereyago]

They don't have to do it, they know you will take care of it. They could have bought their own blower, but you kept lending them yours. and before the guy came along and it was just the single mom, maybe you wanted to help her, or felt bad for her? and took care of the leaves.

I rake leaves once or twice after that, that is it the city does loose leaf collection where you put it out on the street no bags so it can blow back into the yards, , they only pick up twice during the fall/winter and after that you have to put them in bags, I am not all into my yard like that.
. 1 of the trees isn't mine but it has the most leaves fall in my yard.


My neighbor across the street has killed his yard on purpose so he can re seed? so yea that looks real nice, but he is one of the most butt tight people about yards. he will mow every 4 days regardless of if it has rained or not, he has a well that he used the sprinkler on. if the neighbor next to him is mowing, he will do it even if it doesnt need it, they love to compete in other ways, but I have too much of a life to worry about all that. .

he actually built a fence-had to get a permit for-between he and the neighbor's house on the other side of hm because leaves bothered him so bad lol but he is out there always doing somethng with the yard, always mowing blowing re seeding.

 

[Tink888]

My backyard is covered in leaves. I have one medium size tree. The trees all belong to my surrounding neighbors. Neither they, nor I can control where the leaves fall or which way the wind blows.

I understand your annoyance that your yard is the magnet for leaves, as mine is also but I look at it like this.....trash bags are just a few dollars, an afternoon in the yard, in the fall, getting exercise isn't a bad price to pay when my neighbors are all otherwise decent & quiet.

As long as none of their trees ever fall on my house, I'm willing to live with (and clean up) the leaves. Life's too short to get upset over it.

 

[Eeyore98]

I have never understood why people do anything with leaves. We don't do anything with our leaves, I guess our neighbors must hates us

Because if you don't do anything, it kills the grass underneath and you have bare patches come spring. At least in most cases. I suppose if most of the leaves blow into someone else's yard, or if your tree is a species with thinner leaves, you might not have that problem.

 

[ilovepcot]

Because if you don't do anything, it kills the grass underneath and you have bare patches come spring. At least in most cases. I suppose if most of the leaves blow into someone else's yard, or if your tree is a species with thinner leaves, you might not have that problem.

Yes, this is an ugly fact. We moved into our house last January. The leaves hadn't been raked in the front yard in sooo long. Rain had caused them to get packed down and they became slick as glass and dangerous to walk on. It took several days to get them raked and bagged. Really ugly when spring came. Huge dead patches where the leaves had sat so long. Had to have all that replaced with new grass. Now, with leaves falling so fast, we're making sure the leaves get raked weekly.