Apartment gardening UPDATE.

We're ground-level apartments, one in front of the other. We live in the back one; our bedroom adjacent to the dividing fence giving us 'backyards'. The yard space incorporates long patios and a garden strip: outside our bedroom window is a teeny garden bed and the fence, and on the other side of the fence our neighbour has chosen to set up his smokers lounge. His three regular visitors all smoke, and he smokes around 15 a day, which he rolls himself (cheap pungent tobacco); he's a shift worker and often home during the day. I am incredibly sensitive to tobacco smoke, and we have a 'de smog machine' in the bedroom, but it's not keeping up. This week I find myself choking when I lie down to sleep, despite closed windows.

I think I need to plant a series of window boxes on our side of the fence, to clean the air a bit as it wafts over. (Incense didn't do the trick nor dissuade the smokers) any suggestions for fast growing semi-shade loving box plants? We're entering our Spring.

Thanks!

thats sucks...i had a neighbor who did something similar. he just moved out....there were times I would be sitting outside and he would sit a few feet from me and have no concern that the smoke was blowing directly on me..or my dog....my dog actually reacted to it and he was oblivious. there is a scene from 7th heaven where Lucy's Brother in Law is dating a smoker..and she is so callous about other people..not evening caring that she burned someone elses house down..it amazes me that people don't even have the consideration to move away from the door of a store to smoke.....

in Point pleasant, there is a house along the boardwalk that pipes out older music to keep people from hanging on that area...and they claim it seems to work. its things like sinatra.

is is possible that a strong window fan will blow the smoke away?

Agree the plants won't clean the smell from the air, but the are some that may help dilute the chemical impact. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/plants-clean-cigarette-smoke-80723.html

A strong fan and loud music might work better....

Tidal wave petunias and sweet potato vine

It's his home too, so I have to be careful how I complain; he's entitled to fair enjoyment of the premises. But he did move after we did, and we can't afford to move.

I'm not sure if sweet potato vine will work in this location (in the way I have in mind). Will check the others. I know it's not a total solution, but if it helps sweeten the air a bit befor it gets to my window that will be a blessing. Then the machine can take over.

We also have a couple of frangipani trees that are new there, and an ixora bush putting on new leaves.

Oooooo. I just looked up the ornamental sweet potatoes: some nice trailing possibilities, if I can also get a little height.

maybe sit by the window and cough loudly to give them a hint

I think a window fan exhausting out toward your neighbor's smoking lounge might be the solution. It would blow the offending odor away from your windows back over to them! The fan would cut back ambient noise from the guys as well.

Are you permitted to hang a few wind chimes? Most men do not seem to appreciate thedelightful tinkling sound.

Picture this scenario: smoker rings your bell and begs you to take down chimes. You say, certainly, providing he move his smoking lounge far away from its present spot!

Spikes - Dracaena for height

mtierney said:
I think a window fan exhausting out toward your neighbor's smoking lounge might be the solution. It would blow the offending odor away from your windows back over to them! The fan would cut back ambient noise from the guys as well. ">
Are you permitted to hang a few wind chimes? Most men do not seem to appreciate thedelightful tinkling sound.
Picture this scenario: smoker rings your bell and begs you to take down chimes. You say, certainly, providing he move his smoking lounge far away from its present spot!

This !!! Fan would be very effective- would also help blow small flying insects away

in my case, it was coming through 2 windows and a door...i would have had to have fans in both windows which I did not want to do...but if it would work for you its worth a shot....maybe try to get a used one at Unique or off freecycle.

The fence is a 6ft fence; there is no outdoors power point. So there's no way I can get adequate force to any fan trying to blow smoke back. There's already windchimes; he's never said anything about them.

But all of this misses the point: if we're not home to take such evasive action then the smoke would drift through. Regardless, the smoke is saturating my pillows, sheets and mattress (I vacc'd up some really nasty scurf and muck today). When I lie down, my throat is closing, and I can't breathe. I'm just short of how I imagine anaphylaxis would feel at the beginning.

I'm thinking I need to increase the height of the fence a little bit at the bedroom end (to impede the flow of smoke but not totally block airflow for hot nights), and plant the planter boxes.

Can you bung up a trellis, and train something to grow through and around it?

Think I'll have to post a pic in the morning (too dark now), as it's rented we won't be able to fix the trellis firmly enough. Apartments owned by two separate owners, won't get permission for drilling holes.

Extending height will be tough.

The fan would be in your window and blowing out (exhaust). You need a good quality one. My parents had an old heavy metal fan that was really strong, you could feel it pulling the air through the entire house.

Could you get a window air conditioner? You would close the window,turn it on, and sleep cool and free of allergens and pollutants.

Nah. The thought is good, but we have an air con unit already in that room, and it barely works. (Botched installation, noisy unit, restricted airflow... All results in hopeless nights for chronic migraineur)

Attached is promised pic.

My side of the bed is literally one step away from the other side of that window, there's no other way to place the bed and I can't sleep on his side of the bed. I have been known to sleep with my feet where the pillows should be.

The only part of the window that opens is the part close to the fence.

A friend of mine just sent me this website. I haven't had a chance to read through it, but maybe it will be of some help to you.

http://our.windowfarms.org/

Good luck. I am so lucky I moved to a place with really nice and considerate neighbors and I hope it works out for you.

Thanks for the picture.

Rather than attempting to grow something from ground level, what about hanging plant pots from near the top of the fence?

You may have to hunt through the plant nurseries for the hanging pot holders (I tried doing an online search through a major Aussie chain's website, but kept getting strange results. I obviously didn't have my search terms correct )

Anyway, the pictures give a better indication of what I mean.

Yep, that's what I was asking. What basket/ window box plants would be best and fast-growing for this semi-shaded west-facing situation?

A quick update: have had a great visit at the local upmarket nursery to discuss the plant choice. Despite being upmarket, these folk really know their stuff and have been in the area for around 50 years.

The choice is down to a row of advanced fine-leaved curry plants (pretty silver needles) or a row of lavender pits. Both will need to be watered every two days, and both will help to deter other garden pests.

The curry scent is actually quite soft, and I'm feeling quite tempted...