Homeowner frustrated after neighbor discovers major issue with landscape remodel: 'They don't seem happy with me'

A homeowner whose yard was overrun with invasive vines began removing them — until a neighbor, as they are wont to do, spoke up with a complaint.

"Oh boy," the homeowner began in a post about the issue on the subreddit r/NativePlantGardening. "Neighbor doesn't understand me killing winter creeper, Amur honeysuckle and Japanese honeysuckle."

They explained: "I have a hill that I'm trying to restore to native plants. It had (has) hundreds of pounds of vines … that have created almost 100% monoculture. I've been tearing out and disposing of all the invasive species while leaving any native plants I find (not many)."

Yet despite their progress toward cultivating a thriving and pollinator-friendly yard, their neighbor didn't approve.

"Just had a small chat with the neighbor and they don't seem happy with me 'destroying the view/privacy,'" OP shared. "They said they enjoyed the 100% vine coverage all the way up the trees in the summer. Problem is those same vines are choking out all understory plants while weighing down all the trees making them curve towards the ground."

They then asked for recommendations for a native plant that could provide privacy in order to get the neighbor off their case while they continued their work.

"I don't think they care a single bit about invasive plants so it's hard to gain any sympathy on my project," they lamented.

It's a mistake on the neighbor's part not to care about invasive plants. From outcompeting native plants for resources to physically strangling them and killing them, invasive species can wreak nearly irreversible damage on an ecosystem.

Rewilding a yard with native species, on the other hand, creates a healthy ecosystem that supports pollinators — and, in turn, the food chain.

Yet even when people have the best intentions, neighbors — whether in ignorance or spite — have been known to disturb them. 

Fortunately for the OP, commenters had several suggestions for native species — including dogwood, hydrangea, and viburnum plants — that could placate the neighbor and still create a healthy yard.

"Throw in some spicebush too," one suggested. "They grow in nice, you can eat the berries, have great colors in the fall, and will bring in lots of birds and native insects so help the whole ecosystem."

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