Angry neighbor because leaves from a lovely Madrona tree fall on her walkway. I don't want to cut the tree. Should I offer to sweep her walkway so the leaves don't bother her?

I think you should.. It’s a nice gesture and it saves a beautiful tree!

The tree is yours and the leaves, once fallen, are hers. I wouldn’t cut it down. If you want to sweep go ahead but my guess is she won’t be satisfied.

Technically, your neighbor has the right to legally cut the tree to the property line without even asking you.

She was, in effect, letting you have input.

I certainly understand why you do not want to main the tree. I think your proposed solution is a very elegant one in it is only the leaves that are the issue.

If she believes it may block her visibility )or drip on her car) or something else, it may not help.

Perhaps in addition, you could offer to have an arborist look at it with an eye to some pruning?

Good luck! I hate neighbor wars!

@missingbite That’s inaccurate. Tree branches that hang over are the property owners.

Can you elaborate on why she dislikes the leaves so much? Is she elderly and might she be worried about slipping and falling? Are they a nuisance in some other way? In any event, I like Marina’s idea to get the help of an arborist. Perhaps some pruning and other measures might provide a compromise?

Yes, I think you have a good idea. Also, as others have suggested, an arborist is a great idea, too. Legally, she has the right to cut anything on the tree that’s hanging over her property line. If she gets really angry she can appeal to the city and they may decide that you have to cut the tree down, which would be a huge shame.

So, offer to sweep the leaves. If she also has clogged gutters, offer to unclog those, too.

Regardless of what you do, your neighbor will still be a Bitch

@Marina I agree. The question doesn’t say the branch is over the neighbors property. Wind blows my neighbors leaves in my yard every day. That’s life. Now, if the branch is over the property line, she can cut it.

I doubt you will be able to reason with this person. You could clean up every leaf and they will knock on your door complaining about a single leaf at 6AM.

Some people live to complain.

@missingbite You are right. I made an inference, possibly erroneous!

@Marina No problem. I did the same because the neighbor asked @skfinkel to cut the branch. In my mind that implied it was on @skfinkel‘s property. I could be wrong about that. Either way, we are both correct. Neighbor was are always bad. Good luck!!!

The tree is on my property—about five feet from the property line. It leans gently so the top of the tree hangs over her and her husband’s property. I should add that when they first moved in, they asked me to cut a tree in the middle of my lawn that blocks my view of their house. That was (and is) a birch tree. That didn’t do, and explained that the tree blocks my view of their house—and I love the privacy. So this is the next one. Her husband, in asking me to cut this Madrona, also complained about an ancient cedar tree that has some low branches that are leaving some tree stuff on their roof. I don’t think I can make these people happy, but I would like not to incite their ire.

I would offer what you said and then ask if they would finally “leave” you alone.

They sound like a bunch of tree-hating neanderthals, who have no appreciation for natural beauty. They will probably cement over their yard and make it look hideous. If the trees do not hang over their property, you need not do anything. Even if they do hang over their property, you don’t have to do anything. However, they do have the right to do whatever they want with the airspace above their property, including cutting the branches of and tree that hangs over the property line.

It sounds like they are the wrong people for the neighborhood. You might explain to them that people in the neighborhood don’t do things that way. In any case, I think you should prepare for difficult relations. I doubt if there is anything you can do to make it better. You might offer to sweep the leaves, but I don’t think that’s really the problem.

Of course, you probably should ask them what bothers them about trees or privacy or anything nice, like that.

You could consult a tree surgeon. They could tell you if the tree is in danger if you cut the branch. Trees are resilient things.

If they don’t want your tree on their land then they have the right to request you take care of the situation.

Just to be clear @The_Compassionate_Heretic, the tree is very much on my land, it is the leaves that fall on theirs.

Then if it’s just leaves ignore them , they seem like they just wanna be erseholes to you . If you wanna tidy the leaves thats up to you , wouldn’t they then complain about you entering their property or accuse you of doing damage…. ?

Holy Shit! It’s the leaves that bother them? Is that why they cut down all their trees? So the leaves wouldn’t fall in a neighbor’s yard? GMAFB! Yeah, offer to clean them up. They can say no. Maybe they don’t want their grass raked, or something. Or are they putting in a Japanese stone garden, or something?

I’ll see about if they don’t mind me on their property for the purpose of sweeping up the leaves once a week. If they do mind, then maybe I can pay for someone else to do it, I suspect now that I have refused them in any way, there will be nothing I can do to fix the problem.

I’d be careful about being on their property even with permission. If you fall and hurt yourself, it’s gonna get ugly. If you damage their property, even their grass, it’s gonna get ugly. They just don’t sound like people I would mess with. Let them deal with the leaves themselves. I could be wrong. You know them better than we do but it sure sounds like they are trouble. Good luck!

@skfinkel Just know it’s them, not you. Darn tree Nazis.

I’ll keep you posted.

When I read about situations like this, I am ever so thankful for my wonderful neighbors!
Having said that, I don’t really think sweeping the leaves that fall in their yard is going to be a solution. It sounds like your neighborlady just wants something to complain about and inanimates are this week’s recipient. Next, she will be going off about the damn dandelions whose seeds in your yard are now blowing into hers and then she will want you to come over and pluck the skunk cabbages, where will it end? I would just tell her that you are perfectly happy with your tree as it is, and perhaps suggest a lawn care service that can assist her with the leaf removal. What does she do about the rest of her yard? Good luck with this one – neighbor wars are the worst, I agree!

This is pretty straightforward, at least for little old me.

Do nothing. Smile and nod in passing. Refuse any requests to harm your tree. Enjoy your peaceful, dignified existence. Rinse and repeat.

Update: September 2010: The neighbors have now rented the house to a lovely young woman (who was first my tenant—but since I spend the summers there, she is now their tenant—for the year—my loss), so I think there will be no more talk about this. Also, last year I had a tree person pull the overhanging branch back so it didn’t lean over their property at all—and that did stop the discussion.

Madrona trees are very pretty. Although they do make a tremendous mess year round and I can see why the lady wants it taken care of. My neighbors have a madrona tree and I am constantly picking up the mess it creates whether it being leaves,bark,berries and a combo of all three. I think you should have it trimmed back to your property line. Then you shouldn’t have to clean her yard and she can’t come at you with any more complaints or requests.