Monday, 1 February 2016

A little more light

The neighbours' fir trees on our southern border have grown to a prodigious height, with even more growth still to come. Their trees have shaded our greenhouse completely in wintertime and severely reduced the efficiency of our solar panels. But at the weekend a team of men came and, braving wind and rain, climbed up, thinning out and removing any dead wood from the cedars. They also cut down three solid fir trees that were threatening the foundations of the dividing wall. It's great to have more light coming into the garden.
The cedars were not topped and they still create shade, but now some sun will be able to filter through. There was quite a storm last night, the wind rattling outside the house, but because the cedars had been thinned the wind can now travel through the branches so we didn't have to worry about them coming crashing down about our ears!
I'm itching to start work in the garden, there's a great deal of 'fettling up' to do. But the ground is waterlogged and the wind fierce so it will all have to wait for an improvement in the weather. (It looks quite green and pleasant in these photos but, believe me, it is anything but!)
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13 comments:

  1. WILDSIDE1 February 2016 at 08:27

    "waterlogged" & wind-fallen trees

    YUP!

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  2. Janneke 1 February 2016 at 11:32

    I know on photos it always looks better, anyway my garden looks much better on photos than in reality. The ground is terribly waterlogged, I think we have to do something about the drainage. Lots of work to do, hope the weather will turn a bit more dry.

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    1. Share my Garden2 February 2016 at 07:35

      When we first moved into this place we dug up part of the lawn and put in drainage pipes to take water away from the front door area where there had been a tendency to flood. It's a job we are so glad we did!

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  3. angryparsnip1 February 2016 at 11:57

    Can you top a cedar ?
    In my last home in Laguna Beach the people across the street trees blocked my view of the ocean.
    Awful people as they planted them after I moved in. I took them to design review but still had problems with them.
    Have you talked to your neighbors ? It rarely helps.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Share my Garden2 February 2016 at 07:30

      It was as a result of talking to the neighbours that the clearing and felling took place at the weekend and we are pleased that they were so accommodating. (I had pointed out that that unless they thinned the cedars there was a real risk of the wind toppling them over which would result in considerable damage and expense!)

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  4. Cro Magnon2 February 2016 at 01:18

    I was once told that a long copper nail driven into the trunk of a tree (discretely, of course) does wonders for allowing more light into a garden.

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    1. Share my Garden2 February 2016 at 07:25

      Thank you for the suggestion, Cro. Will I still be able to blog from my prison cell?

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  5. Harvee2 February 2016 at 07:41

    I wish my neighbors would thin their oak and mulberry trees too. The back has too much shade and cuts down on what I can grow there. Enjoy the sunlight!

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  6. Share my Garden2 February 2016 at 14:22

    Hello Harvee, the sunlight is dappled but far better than before and much appreciated. I hope that your neighbours will be as considerate as ours have been and allow you more light.

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  7. My Garden Diaries3 February 2016 at 20:19

    I'm so happy to hear that you were able to trim back the trees to give you the light you need for your greenhouse and garden!!! We are doing the same tomorrow as my neighbors pines hang over my garden creating shade as well. Happy planning to you! Hope the wind lets up! Nicole xo

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    1. Share my Garden4 February 2016 at 01:45

      It's good to have obliging neighbours! Hope that garden life is brighter for you now.

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  8. elaine 5 February 2016 at 03:20

    We used to have the same problem with the neighbour's leylandii - luckily they obligingly had them chopped down.

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