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[shirai_kirei]

Ever since Mum moved here 5 years ago, her neighbor Jose has stood on his back porch & watched us whenever we’re in the backyard.
He just stares, barely blinking. It’s grown from just weird to unsettling as fuck.

There’s a chain link fence & a few taller bushes between the yards, but he has a clear view of the back porch. He doesn’t answer when Mum

Comments

[tod_hollykim]

Could just plant some hedges or tall trees between. Something that will grow fast and fill out nicely. And block his view.

[diamonddustshoe]

I agree with the above comment, and anything else you can put in the way in the mean time .

[ghstlady1522]

Good fences make good neighbors.

If there's a railing on her porch, she can plant some window boxes with taller flowers. It'll be a cheaper and faster "fence" than updating the fence or planting trees and hedges. Plus they'll be pretty to look at. She could even put in tomato plants or other veggies on the railing and make a container veggie garden.

Actually, you can make a wall out of peas and beans... search for bean pole tee pee online, there are TONS of tutorials and that would be cheap and easy to do in containers on the porch (just make a single wall, instead of a round tee pee.) It'd keep her porch cool when you're sitting out there, block his view, AND you'd get fresh veggies out of the deal.

[shirai_kirei]

I've asked her if she's tried planting some tall greenery or altering the fence, & it seems whatever she plants doesn't want to take to the soil on our side :/ (the shrubs are on his side). Since she lives in the city, there are weird zoning laws about tall fences on properties that aren't on a corner. I don't know if it's the same everywhere, but NY has some oddly-specific rules about how tall the fence can be, what side it can be on, etc.
What bothers me is that if his back door were on the other side of his house, this might not even be as much of a problem.

[ghstlady1522]

I hate to say it, but is it possible that he's messed with things she's tried planting, and that's why it wouldn't take? I mean, especially if the guy is really that creepy?

We had a neighbor who kept trying to kill off my mom's trees in the small yard between their houses because he wanted to be able to park his car there... one day my mom caught him at it and told him if she caught him again she'd call the cops and then get permission to put a fence down the middle to stop him (which would have been a PITA due to rules about fencing, like you mentioned, but with that as evidence it would have been approved) and he stopped trying to kill it off.

And peas on a trellis don't count as a fence. :D She could do morning glories or something on a trellis in a container, and then it would fit all the loopholes and wouldn't have to worry about the ground or the neighbor killing it. :) (This coming from the girl who has her peppers and lettuce planted in milk cartons beside her shed currently.)

[shirai_kirei]

Ugh, I hope he hasn't tried to do that :/ I mean, I don't know enough about him to draw any solid conclusions but you never know.. She'll have to keep an eye on him.
The climbing ivy we planted grew up the side of the house, so at least we know it's viable there! It's a matter of getting it to wander over further.. As far as extenuating circumstances, I'll have to let her know what other options she has.
I knew I could come to LJ for good advice (: thanks, guys!