New homeowner needs advice - planting near utilities/foundation and neighbor garbage

Hi All,

I recently purchased a home and some land in SW Michigan and I'm really excited to get things started.  Being a new homeowner....I have a few questions I hope you all can help me out with.

1.  How close to the foundation of the home can I plant things?  Right now 3 of the 4 sides of the house already have about a foot of rubber material and stones on top of that.  Can I start planting right outside of this foot perimeter?  Maybe short rooted things?

2.  How much space should I leave around utilities and an LP gas tank (and a sewer valve pop-up)?  I'm imagining pipes and things underground that I probably want to avoid.  I'm not sure if I need to avoid planting in the whole area.  (I'll try to include pics here to help)

3.  My neighbor burns trash right up against our property line and the plumes of smoke are going where I expect to plant my food.  Is there any shrub or tall plant that I can grow to filter this/protect my space?  Some of the stuff that's burning is pretty gross.  I've seen plastic bottles from car oil, tin, other plastics, etc.  I'll try to include some pics here.

Thank you!

Trees can help filter air pollutants through their leaves.  

Planting trees like spruce, pine, cedar, and yew might act as a barrier to the smoke once the trees are tall enough.

As for the propane tank, the propane company needs to get a large truck up to the tank and then the serviceman needs to easily get the hose to the fittings.  The other spaces are available for planting as long as the plants will not reach the tank.  Especially if you do not own the tank.

The other utilities also need to have access for repair and to read the meter.  To be safe a call to the utility companies would answer as to their requirements.

There is a phone number to call to have the lines marked so you don't dig into the utility lines.

Here are a couple of threads that you or others might find interesting about dealing with smoke:

https://permies.com/t/163811/wildfire/houseplants-clean-wildfire-smoke

https://permies.com/t/91527/personal-care/purity/Ways-cope-thick-wildfire-smoke

Some points to consider;
- Would it be possible to talk with the neighbour about the fires and offer to help it be moved?
- Such ' incinerators' were banned in Australia some years ago because of the pollution they were causing in cities.
and people just got used to it.
- open burn laws in Michigan
- Is it worthwhile capturing the rainfall and using it in the house and the garden. You need a big tanl, mon 10-20,000 L for it to work properly.
My signature has a link that may be of interest.

Thanks Anne and John.  I appreciate your thoughtful replies.  

Anne, I hadn't thought about the gas service person or utility maintenance needing that open access.  That's a good point.  I was quite focused on what is going on below ground.  

John, that is an option to talk to the neighbor.  I'm kind of trying to approach this lightly with the neighbor.  I don't want to start a riff with anyone but I'd also like to take care of my area.  
I'm gonna noodle on the idea of catching the rainfall.  I'm not sure yet how that's all gonna go.  That might be for year 2 on the property.

Dot, if I had to approach the neighbour I would ask if he could make some time to talk about the incinerator.
That gives him a chance to think.
When he agrees to talk, I would ask if I could help him move §it because you would like to plant some fruit trees, because.... And I am concerned about
the effect smoke may have.

It's been a year since I posted about this and I wanted to share a great update....my neighbor moved his burn cans!  SUCCESS!!  Woo hooo

Thanks permies for the advice and support.  I feel like I have more space to grow things now.