posted 9 years ago
B.E., It might not be quite what you mean when you say a firm boundary, but my inclination would be to plant something vigorous and thorny along the fence line, with a path on my side; the neighbour can then benefit from free berries, or free aggravation, whichever way they please. Himalayan blackberry seems a good bet; seabuckthorn might work, but can be somewhat short-lived. Blackberry is rampant around here, and could quite plausibly have just arrived of its own accord...
I'd avoid paths along the fence, a bit of privacy is nice, and a blackberry patch can make a pretty good visual barrier.
I'd avoid planting trees near the line, other than small, short-lived stuff; if the neighbour wishes to hack blackberries back to the property line, no big deal. A big old fruit tree that gets lopped off for leaning over the border would be much more upsetting.
I seem to recall that windbreaks are discussed in Martin's book; he makes a very good case for their inclusion. Right at the edge of the property would be a natural place for this, so hopefully whatever is planted there can also fill this role.
'Theoretically this level of creeping Orwellian dynamics should ramp up our awareness, but what happens instead is that each alert becomes less and less effective because we're incredibly stupid.' - Jerry Holkins
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