It was too good to last

[Rorey]

The house behind me sat empty for years. Every week a guy would come and take care of the lawn, so it wasn't an eyesore or anything. Then about six months ago there was an estate sale, and then there was a lot of construction activity. It went on the market five days ago, and is already under contract. I know by the photos online that the inside is now gorgeous. I just hope the new neighbors are nice, and that they don't hate my four cats.

A distressing thing to me is that if they're on their little deck in back they can see into my entire back yard, and I even noticed on those photos that from the living room they can see into my back porch. I've really enjoyed my privacy, so this does not please me.

But, I guess I'll have to adapt.

[multigraincracker]

1. Good luck...

Most likely you'll be just fine.

[leftieNanner]

2. Can you plant some trees or tall shrubs along the fence?

If they turn out to be Trumpers, I would suggest bamboo, but that would just be mean...............

[jcgoldie]

3. HA!

My brother planted some bamboo in his backyard. He had to dig a 2 foot deep trench around the perimeter of it and fill with concrete to keep it from spreading everywhere. It still shoots its way under sometimes....

[Biophilic]

16. Too funny, so of. Half of my time in the garden is cutting back my sister's bamboo.

Yes, it blocks the road dust, but also just keep expanding. It is truly relentless. If you plant bamboo your name will be cussed through the 7th generation. Only half kidding. Just don't plant bamboo.

[Lochloosa]

19. There are varaties of bamboo that don't have an invasive spread.

[Rorey]

4. If there's room for a tree, I will definitely plant one

We already have six foot high privacy fences. That house is a bi-level, and we're on sort of a hill.

I used to be able to see into one of my neighbor's back yard too, and I hated it. I just felt like I was being nosy just looking out a window on that side. Then we put in a tall truck port, so now I have a view of that. It might not be a great view, but at least my neighbor doesn't have to feel like she's being watched, at least not by me.

I've been thinking of adding a few trees anyway, so I guess that's what I'll do. That is, unless they want to replace the fence with one that's 10 feet high. I'd be fine with that as long as they paid for it.

[abqtommy]

8. I doubt that any fence over 6 feet high is legal. It isn't in many places so you might want to

check your local ordinances.

[Rorey]

13. I don't think so either

But if they wanted to put one up, I sure wouldn't report them.

[Rorey]

14. I just checked.

Six feet is the maximum height.

[Lochloosa]

21. This may help.

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/pages/bamboo-plants-varieties

[Rorey]

6. Well, you KNOW I'm going to be sleuthing them

Yeah, bamboo is a pretty mean thing to plant. But it does grow very fast, so maybe......

[Hortensis]

7. :) This! Privacy's important to me too, and I also plant to create

pretty views and to edit out what's unattractive.

A small tree or limbed-up large shrub planted close to where one sits, or windows, could also work quick wonders. Cupping a hand up in front of the face and moving it close and away while looking at the new neighbors' windows will give an idea of what and where plantings could go and do.

I wouldn't rule out bamboo, either. But being a wimpy Democrat it'd just be a clumping type.

[Rorey]

10. I actually have an open spot just in front of that part of the covered porch

Bamboo is starting to look more and more attractive.

[Hortensis]

11. :) Make it beautiful while you're at it.

[Rorey]

12. I took out an out of control juniper bush just a few weeks ago

I've been contemplating what to put in that spot.

I'm going to study up on how to contain it so it isn't a problem for anybody, or for me. I'm seeing that there's a special barrier that I can use on the perimeter.

My neighbor planted pampas grass a few years ago, but it sure didn't do well this year. I don't know why. My in-laws, who are now long gone, had both pampas grass and bamboo, and both did very well in their yard.

[Hortensis]

36. How funny. I have an out of control juniper that's hard to get to at

the top of a retaining wall by the side of our front porch. I chose juniper for a hidden but sun-blasted and unwatered little corner for tough, but it turned out not to be the small variety it was labeled as. So I need to once again squirm back through some nice shrubs to hack it back. On the plus side, massacre doesn't seem to phase it.

Know what you mean about plants not doing well, especially as climate changes. Maybe enjoy contemplating ideas at a local botanic garden? Hope your new neighbors are nice ones, and that their plantings are too.

[Biophilic]

17. Don't do it. Trust me, don't do it. It will out live you and your descendants of 10 generations.

I half laugh about it and I half cuss it, but bamboo is insidious. It always wins.

[Rorey]

20. Maybe a better option is just to enclose the back porch.

The now-ex-husband and I had talked about making it another room. At first I thought it was a stupid idea because we really didn't need the space, but then I started envisioning it as a nice sunroom. And THEN I envisioned making it sort of a man-cave so he'd spend all of his time in it. To put the situation in perspective, he was a lifelong Democrat, and then voted for the orange idiot.

[Biophilic]

24. Or you could plant the bamboo and tell him managing it is his penance for voting for TFG.

But if you still care for him don't do it. Maybe a nice sunroom. Yeah, don't go with the bamboo. Even someone who voted for the orange idiot probably doesn't deserve the bamboo. Well, maybe some of them do...

[Rorey]

25. Oh, he's long gone

I haven't spoken to him in about three months, and haven't seen him in a year. I am happier than I've been in 29 years, and I don't anticipate ever speaking to him again.

[Biophilic]

38. Well, I'm glad for you the jerk is gone. Good work.

I understand the lack of funding for a sunroom, but don't do the bamboo. It will cause you at least as much trouble as the ex husband if not more. Hopefully someone else on this tread will have a better idea for you.

[Rorey]

39. I did decide against the bamboo

I've been trying to make myself adjust to the fact that my comfort level may change a bit, but I'll be okay. I was thinking that if the realtor had done an open house I would want to see how things were laid out. But I was actually able to pretty much figure out which rooms are nearest my property by the photos.

If someone were to stand at their living room window, and if I had my dining room blinds open, they'd be able to see into my dining room. That really won't bother me because I'm hardly ever in that room, other than to walk through it.

My bedroom is another story. I've got a cellular blind on the large window, and it's either up or down. I enjoy sleeping with the window open, so the blind isn't down when I sleep. I think I'll just get some semi-sheer curtains for that window. I've been meaning to do something like that anyway.

As far as the yard goes, I can't think of anything too much more boring than watching me do my yard work. I don't sunbathe, or anything like that. I do like to sit out on my back porch, but, again, pretty boring for someone to watch.

Realistically, it's very doubtful that they'll at all be interested in what's going on at my place.

As far as the jerk goes, he pretty much got rid of himself. We were already at war because he voted for the orange idiot. I thought he'd see the light eventually, so I hung in there. But then I caught him cheating. There was no coming back from that, especially after I started putting the pieces together and realizing that it wasn't the first time. I was just too trusting. But it's all for the best. My entire family is very happy that his negativity is no longer in our lives. Life is wonderful!

[Rorey]

27. Also, I'm thinking just a simple, basic enclosure

A beautiful sunroom is not in my budget.

[csziggy]

42. Rather than planting bamboo, think about bamboo shades!

I used to have those on some west facing windows to control the sunshine in the afternoons before our plants got big enough to shade that side of our old house.

are sort of like sun screens in that you can see from the darker side to the lighter side - so at night neighbors might be able to see in a little if you have bright lights on.

Of course, we did also plant crepe myrtles - the old fashioned kind that get really tall. It only took a few years before they were tall enough to shade that side of the house. Now, forty years later those crepe myrtles are 30-40 feet tall.

If your climate is good for them, crepe myrtles could be a good choice. They are attractive and bloom all summer long. The disadvantage is that they lose their leaves in the winter so wouldn't provide the screen you're looking for all year round.

[abqtommy]

5. Sounds like a trip to the home store to pick up curtains or blinds. I've done that in the past.

Here in our apartment we've lived in for 13 years the first thing I did when we moved in was put
black flat sheets over our bedroom windows since we live on the ground floor. Problem solved!

[Rorey]

9. I got pretty used to never closing my bedroom blinds

I'm probably on a few drone photos.

[Midnight Writer]

15. I bought a house in the country, last place on a dead end road. Loved it.

Then a developer bought up the land around me and built a subdivision.

20 houses a year going up all around me.

Now I'm in the little dumpy farmhouse surrounded by McMansions.

[Rorey]

18. I'm so sorry

I've lived here for 17 years, and I just love my neighborhood and my neighbors. It's generally very quiet, and it's I feel pretty safe.

My sons keep telling me I should sell, but I'm really scared to death to take a chance on another place. I have just never been so happy anyplace else in my life. I know I can't stay here forever, but I want to stay as long as I'm able to keep everything up.

[Sogo]

22. Ix-nay on the Amboo-Bay!

There are a lot of fast-growing alternatives that won't take over your yard and your life!

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/

[Rorey]

30. Thank you!

I'll check that out.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

23. Science always has an answer

You could be irritating: https://www.amazon.com/Gopretty-Outdoor-Waterproof-Security-Brightest/dp/B07Q6VBFH5/ref=sr_1_45?dchild=1&keywords=brightest+floodlight&qid=1627261626&sr=8-45

Or you could really light up their lives: https://www.amazon.com/Hyperikon-Stadium-3500W-5000W-Equivalent-Waterproof/dp/B071ZTMGK6/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=brightest+floodlight&qid=1627261626&sr=8-15

PS- I love that scene in Christmas Vacation.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

31. Send a pic. if you're cute, maybe I could buy that house.

[jpak]

26. Get some roosters

[Rorey]

28. Oh NO!

Last edited Sun Jul 25, 2021, 11:31 PM - Edit history (1)

I've been ever so thankful that nobody has roosters in my neighborhood. Somebody in my daughter's neighborhood has chickens and a rooster and it's very annoying.

I definitely don't want anyone who lives in the next yard to hate me.

[Ferrets are Cool]

32. Gardenia's grow very fast and smell great.

Just a thought.

[Buzz cook]

33. Walk around naked

And they'll build a fence.

[Thunderbeast]

34. We just moved from a house we owned for 34 years

Our kitchen, and the next door neighbor's kitchen had large windows facing each other. The kitchen sinks were about 20 feet apart. Through several wonderful neighbors, we greeted each other in our bathrobes and toasted each other with morning coffee.

I miss the comradere that kitchen gave us.

Embrace the new neighbors before shielding them from your life!

[Rorey]

40. That's hilarious

I know all of my neighbors who actually live on my street/cul-de-sac, and am good friends with the people in the closest houses. This house in question is behind me, separated by a privacy fence. If we were to have any kind of interaction, it would be like Wilson interacting with the Taylors on Home Improvement. We'd be talking over the fence without being able to see each other.

This neighborhood is just very quiet. Once in awhile someone will have a gathering, but nobody ever has anything going on very late in the evening.

I'm just going to try to stay positive about this change. It'll be okay.

[pjpossum]

35. Do NOT plant bamboo!!!

A good friend's neighbor had it. It kept sending runners into her yard. It is really hard to get rid of. She had to threaten her neighbor with legal action to get them to take care of it.
I have a neighbor who planted a variety of ficus to block his neighbor's view of his back yard. The nosy neighbor would always look (and stare for a long time) over the fence when my neighbor was in their own backyard. It grew fairly quickly.

[onethatcares]

37. roll up bamboo shades on the porch

and tell them why you're putting them up.

They would just have to adjust to not looking at the rest of the yard.

[Wicked Blue]

41. Do a lot of nude sunbathing

and maybe they will put up visual barriers of their own

[Demovictory9]

43. plant some bushes.. put up wooden fence