Good Fences Make Good Neighbours

It's a year since we bought this property, and all that time the vacant next-door lot has looked to the casual passer-by as though it belongs to us. We could wish it did but failing that, a clearly marked boundary would be nice.

And now we have one. In collaboration with us, our neighbours hired a couple of guys to install a wood fence to match the rest of their fencing.

 I had to rush out and protect a few emerging perennials from their work boots, but otherwise all went smoothly and efficiently.

What I'm seeing is another good surface to trail some climbers on. There are already a couple of clematis there, one of which is purple - a jackmanii I think - and was obviously planted to grow into the old plum tree.



I was a bit concerned that we would lose light into our basement windows, but the fence is low enough that it's not an issue, at least not yet. When a house is built next door, that will change, of course.

Looking towards that future, I'm planning to plant some shade lovers like hostas and tiarellas in the narrow strips along both sides of the path.



Oddly enough, our backyard looks larger now the fence is in. I think that our imaginary boundary followed a line back from the bit of old fencing at the front of the house, which encroaches about 4 or 5 inches over our property line. The new fence is where it ought to be, so we have gained those extra inches symbolically as well as actually.