Wow. Another property line nightmare. I feel for you. IF you planted 4' and not 4" on your side of the actual property line, then I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe, if talking to him is difficult, especially considering his jump to accusations comments on first greet, writing him a letter to detail what you and prior neighbor had agreed to might give him something to think about. If that doesn't work, ignore his BS and just cut/trim your trees/shrubs as usual and keep clear of crossing over into hostile territory.
Unless you want to tangle, a dispute in court turns everyone into losers.
I had a new NYC A-ole neighbor come next door to a property owned by my family for over 100 years, in another state. He proceeded to go to the zoning board to change his house/patio area, windows/ doors, enclosed porch etc. He brought his young gun architect. I spoke to him, suggesting he might want to get an A-1 survey of our adjoining property line along our adjacent driveways, etc., to make for clear boundaries for both of us.(I even gave him a survey map from the prior owner of his property given to me by the widow).
They seemed nice at outset, but as story unfolds his intentions become clearer .
He did a survey, staked everything off and drilled a hole in my driveway apron that had just been newly poured by the town a few years earlier. Then he cut down a beautiful Rose of Sharon bush that was at the corner of my garage, and also destroyed a rose bush that was growing up on the side of my garage, inside a small semi-circle garden bed. He used the 'woman' who my mother had hired, and I eventually fired, to do the destruction and to plant 12-15 tall Arborvitae shrubs alongside the garage side wall, ALL either on or inside my property line.
He also claimed the by now huge maple tree that my mother bought and had planted near the driveway apron's end near the sidewalk and curb, as his own. My mother and the dead Admiral's widow who had owned the property next door had agreed on the planting, years prior and did not care about who's property it fell regarding roots, branches etc. It was now a full grown sugar maple.
A-ole hired a 'tree' guy, (who ended up a few years later being killed by his own pro grade tree
chipper, when he fell into it and could not extricate himself, while working alone. Yikes, I knew the guy - he was a gnarly old dude and nasty too, but I wouldn't have wished that death on anyone, including him) to prune and elevate the maple's branches to let more light in. Totally NOT the purpose of that tree, which was put there to shade both driveways during the heat of summer's sun. Oh, well, I just sat back and let him go at it after explaining who had planted the tree and who had paid for it originally, etc.
So I got a call from the then mentioned gardener, and answered on the first ring, since my calls were forwarded for just this kind of issue prevention. She said an error had occurred, but she had not been able to reach me, and I should take a look. She was talking about the Arborvitae bushes maybe being too close to my garage, etc.
I drove the 4 hours to CT, because I was going to be going there anyway that weekend, and met with her, and told her she had destroyed the Rose-of-Sharon, and the Arborvitaes needed to be moved right away.
I told her her crazy as bat ***** gardener head woman, assistant, who was very good with flowerbeds, BTW, had destroyed the rose bush and so on. At first she argued with me, then her employee started yelling at me and it got all crazy with the two of them. They lied, but eventually admitted they had cut down the Rose of Sharon bush AND destroyed the rose bush my deceased Aunt had planted years prior. Of course the property owner was nowhere to be seen during all this.
My mother's neighbor across the street who's mother had lived there before her said to me- "well you're not here much of the year" when I explained my frustration with NYC idiot, as if that was carte blanche to go and destroy my yard and so on.
I picked up one of the Arborvitae shrubs by hand and moved it 2' + onto the other guys property, and told her to follow a straight line with the rest of the shrubs. She said she would trim what was on my side. I said NO, you will keep them two feet from the line so when they reach 4' width mature growth, as stated on the description label planting tag, ONLY the shrub owner, or you, will be pruning the entire shrub and it won't be encroaching on my property.
I had fired her because she kept leaving the gates open and our two non-resident labs that lived at home in VT would get out in town and might have gotten lost or stolen. I tried numerous times to get her to understand the importance of closing the gates but she just could not get it.
She was eventually fired by the A-ole next door too. Guess she won't be pruning my side of the shrubs after all! That says a lot right there about her crazy old woman assistant 'planter'.
BTW, everything he said he would do to comply with the zoning rules on his house was a complete lie. Oversized windows, doors where he had no approval, encroachment with roofs and overhangs and porches on each neighbor's property. The zoning guy told me he'd talk to him, but in most cases this is what people do, and unless the zoning board brings suit they get away with it, So it was a complicit deception by the owner and architect to do whatever they felt like doing.
Eventually I sold the property to another NYC A-ole for a huge pile of money. :cool2: Seems these idiots like each other's company.:confused2: I liked getting as far away from them as physically possible, but hated giving up a family owner property of such significance.
So I get your plight. Be careful, full blown border wars are NOT worth the frustration.
Good luck. Post back your progress/ outcome.
