Homeowner Rips Up Neighbor’s Tomato Plants—Who Is Really in the Wrong?

Getting into a dispute with your neighbor is an unfortunate but all-too-common predicament for many homeowners. And if it's not resolved, you could face years of discord until one of you moves.

This was the experience of one Reddit user, who explained their predicament in a post asking for advice. In their post, they explained that the landscaper they hired to remove some vines growing up the side of their house also ripped up some tomato plants growing in their yard, not realizing they belonged to the neighbor next door.

The neighbor was upset that the homeowner had removed the plants and asked the homeowner to buy them organic tomatoes for the rest of the season or replace the plants with mature ones.

"I told them their plants shouldn't have been in my yard, and I have a landscaping sign in my yard. It shouldn't be my responsibility to make sure my landscaper doesn't take out plants that are in my yard and aren't mine," the original poster wrote. "I'm wondering if, maybe for the sake of keeping the peace, I should just replace the plants, though?"

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The post generated hundreds of comments, with some siding with the neighbor. "Did you even speak with your neighbor about the encroachment?" asked a commenter. "While you have every right to landscape your property as you see fit, you sound like a crappy neighbor."

However, the majority of fellow Redditors said it was not the original poster's fault and that they had a right to remove plants growing on their property.

One commenter advised the poster to "get a surveyor to mark your plot, and either leave the little flags up or build a fence. Tell your neighbor that this was on your property, without permission, and that you assumed they'd popped up on their own, because why would your neighbor plant tomatoes in your backyard?"

Another Redditor suggested keeping the peace, writing that the original poster could "buy at least one mature plant (if they have the means to do so) and maybe leave it with a note" explaining the situation.