My Neighbor is Afraid of My Trees!

I moved into my current home in 2006. I moved here from the Antelope Valley in California where there are mountains, and chaparral but few trees. In the Antelope Valley we planted trees that would survive a harsh hot and dry climate like Palms, Cacti (I know cacti aren’t trees but they made a good substitute) and any other drought tolerant species. We had to flood our yards at least three times a day to keep any plant life alive. Built-in sprinkler systems were essential. City ordinances in Palmdale, Lancaster and Quartz Hill required everyone who owned a home to plant grass in their front yards. No sand or natural landscapes allowed. So we watered and watered and tried to keep everything alive. Living in the desert was like living in a perpetual drought. We had a Purple Plum tree in the back yard and a drought resistant weeping willow in the front yard. The Willow was unusual looking but provided plenty of shade, essential to living comfortably in the desert. I loved the high-desert vegetation but I got homesick for the native trees of my youth, trees that grew thick along the highways in the southeast US. - Pine trees, several varieties of Oak, even delicate dogwoods. An added bonus was the abundant bird life using the thick canopy to build nests like Woodpeckers, sparrows, hawks, crows and more. So when I looked for a house here in Mississippi, I looked for mature trees in the yard. I found the perfect home with Oaks and Sweetgums shading the driveway, a Bradford Pear and a leaning Sycamore in front. In back the Red Tops had grown into 15 ft. high trees next to the 30 ft. Sweetgum and two of our neighbors had lots of Oaks and a few Pines. Several tall Crepe Myrtles added a splash of color as well as several flowering bushes and ornamental grasses. Oddly enough, one of our neighbors had no trees in her yard except for a few spindly Crepe Myrtles. She approached us almost immediately after we moved in about taking all our trees down. I was incredulous that she had made such an unthinkable request. After all, one of the reasons I moved into this house was “the trees”. (Unfortunately since 2008 I have had to take down three trees, the leaning Sycamore that had been damaged by Hurricane Katrina, a dying older Sweetgum, and the beautiful Bradford Pear that was sheared in half by a freak 65 mph wind.) My treeless neighbor explained to me that she had taken down all the trees in her yard after Hurricane Katrina for fear that they might fall on her house. I thought that was a little extreme. Isn’t that why we all carry insurance on our homes? My husband had several conversations with her and each time she pressured him to take down our trees that were closest to her house. Eventually they had a row about her continuing to push for removal of our trees. That was in 2007. We have barely spoken since then until I decided recently to try to be neighborly and forget the “tree thing”. BIG MISTAKE. Once again, she lobbied for tree removal suggesting that it was “irresponsible” for neighbors to keep trees that might fall on another’s home and why the insurance on her home was responsible for any repairs caused by someone else’s tree. I politely excused myself and left her to ponder her own question. Five years later she is still scared that one of our trees will fall on her house. I have lost three beautiful mature trees to the whims of nature. Part of one fell on my house and my insurance paid for the repairs. It may seem silly to argue over trees but they provide shade, keep the soil from eroding, give birds a place to live, and lift my spirits daily. My neighbor will just have to get over her fear of my trees,