Lawn lovers do whatever they can to keep their yards healthy, but one person's neighbors made a huge overstep.

In a Reddit post on r/treelaw, a user shared photos that showed the people living next door had the ground dug up to install a pool. In the process, they excavated the roots of the user's tree.

"Neighbors dug a pool, probably killed my tree," the original poster said. "We have a healthy elm we just trimmed that looks like it got nuked by a Bobcat this afternoon. I'm guessing at least 30% of its roots got excavated? I'm looking into setback codes for my location (Houston TX) but what is the move here?"

The saga between neighbors or even homeowners associations and plant parents is an ongoing struggle. One person had a neighbor who sprayed chemicals into their yard, endangering their children and dog. Another person shared that their neighbor burned trash, making the air stinky and near unbreathable.

Commenters on the damaged tree post asked questions and offered insight to help this user.

"Do they have a permit for that work? Maybe call city planning and development for an inquiry," one suggested.

"If the tree survives, the roots will get payback at that pool," another person said. 

While problematic neighbors are tricky, some tips for dealing with them include practicing clear communication. For the sake of plant health, you can initiate conversations around climate issues. For bigger issues, like this potentially killed elm tree, research the rules in your city as a good first step to address the issue and avoid a falling tree or other safety issues.

Should homeowners associations be able to determine what you grow in your garden? Yes 💯 Only if it impacts your neighbors 🏘️ Depends on what you're growing 🌼 Heck no 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

killed my tree

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.