I THINK it is time the council passed a law limiting the height of trees that can be planted in suburban gardens, or regulate how far they need to be planted from a dividing fence.
Gums, which grow into huge trees, are planted right against a fence and quickly grow and spread over into the next door yard. This can cause much anxiety as to whether your home is going to take the full onslaught of falling limbs, not to mention the buckets of leaves that fall all year and have to be swept up and disposed of.
Why don’t these tree planters place huge trees as close to their own homes as they are willing to plant them to their neighbours?
My worst experience was caused by a neighbour planting a row of conifers about a metre apart and a couple of feet from our dividing fence.
Here’s a poem I wrote about it…
I dug and planted, weeded, watered,
My garden plan I had it sorted.
The design had used up all one side,
The plants grew well and I watched with pride.
A neighbour planted close to the fence
some conifers, which grew huge and dense.
Their mass of roots spread far and wide,
My garden wilted and some plants died.
A replanting was done with much toil,
Plants which would grow in this arid soil.
Some years later my neighbours house was sold,
I was very pleased when I was told.
The new owner has shown commonsense,
and removed those trees so near the fence.
My home is bright, garden growing well,
There’s sunshine now where once shadows fell.
Spare a thought when planting those large trees
of how far it will affect your neighbours please!
Norma Allen,
Pakenham.
