However, some neighbours are more frosty than friendly when it comes to hedges.
So much so, that this month the Scottish Parliament commenced their post legislative scrutiny of the High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013, which came into force in 2014.
The Government are looking to hear from the public in relation to the effectiveness of the Act in practice.
Can local authorities intervene in hedge rows?
The Act allows a local authority to intervene when hedges, which are defined as two or more consecutive shrubs or trees, grow to more than two meters in height, and are interfering with the light to the adjacent property.
Where neighbours have attempted to resolve the issue themselves but failed to do so, the local authority can issue a high hedges order requiring the hedge be lopped.
Issues as to the application of the Act include loopholes created due a hedge being defined as two or more consecutive trees.
The Act does not apply to individual trees, regardless of how Little-Shop-Of-Horror-esque they may be.
This has resulted in ingenious schemes to get round the legislation, such as trimming every second tree so that the offending 'hedge' is no longer a hedge, and is technically a row of trees. It seems unlikely these neighbours still swap Christmas cards!
Make your views on the Act known with the Scottish Parliament's call for evidence.
