After more than a year of treading on legal eggshells due to strict government lockdown restrictions, one place we always seemed safe from breaking the rules was our gardens.
But thousands of green-fingered people could be breaking the law without knowing it as they get to work ahead of the summer.
April is usually the month when many crack out the fence stain, start re-potting their plants and try to remember what the lawn mower looks like.
But did you know there are several laws around gardening – but many have no idea they exist.
There's actually a lot of issues we need to be aware of when it comes to leaving our back doors and stepping outside, reports My London.
It's not all about boundaries and house deeds, either.
A spokesman for GardenBuildingsDirect.co.uk said: “Most of us want to be good, law abiding neighbours, but that can be difficult if we don’t actually know what the law is.
“There may be times when it would be within your legal rights to do something, but it could cause tensions with your neighbour.
“We’d always advise trying to come to a neighbourly solution first, as this is always preferable to having to call in the lawyers.
“If you brush up on the law as it stands, you may be able to avoid any sort of dispute altogether, which is always the ideal solution.”
Here's seven of the little known gardening laws you might not know.
1. Trimming overhanging branches
If a tree’s branches overhang into your property from a neighbour’s, you can trim them, but only up to the property line. You can’t lean into the neighbour’s garden to do this, though because this constitutes trespass.
If a tree is covered by a Tree Preservation Order, you can’t cut the branches.
2. Fruit and flowers
Although you can cut branches that hang into your garden up to the property line, they still belong to the neighbour – as do any flowers or fruit on them. Your neighbour is legally entitled to demand them back.
Do not throw them into the neighbour’s garden, as this could constitute garden waste fly tipping.
3. Windfalls
Windfallen fruit technically still belongs to the person who owns the tree. So, if your neighbour’s windfalls end up on your lawn, ask for permission if you want to keep them.
4. Fallen leaves
Tree owners are not responsible for sweeping up fallen leaves.
5. Trees blocking light
Under the Rights of Light Act, if a window has received natural light for 20 years or more, neighbours can’t block it with a new tree.
6. Fences and boundaries
These can be tricky to resolve. The house deeds should indicate who owns fences and is responsible for boundaries (although there is no legal responsibility to keep boundaries well maintained, unless the deeds state otherwise). But boundaries can move over time and cause disputes later. You may need to contact HM Land Registry for help with boundary disputes.
7. Hedges
If a hedge grows along the boundary between two gardens, both neighbours are responsible for trimming. If a hedge belonging to a neighbour grows into your garden, you can trim it but, as with tree branches, you must return the trimmings to the owner.
