I've an ethical question . A few years back , my backyard neighbor , came to me , and demanded I cut down my mature trees , along our shared fence ( Oleanders ) . I told her I like the shade and privacy they provided and love to see the flowers . They were planted more than thirty five years ago , long before I bought this place , and are a part of the reason I found it so attractive . L told her no , I wasn't cutting down my trees . She complained they were tired of raking up the leaves from my trees . The mowing service they hire attaches a bag to the side of the side of their mower that collects the grass cuttings and leaves . They have never raked their yard . Three days later , I saw through the fence , that they had put new plants in . We had an exceptionally cold winter that year . I lost several oleanders that had been growing along the fence , exactly where she wanted me to cut mine down . The plants they had put in , were a pomegranet tree , a peach tree , and a grapefruit tree . They also added some kind of vines that grew up their trees and mine , and had some kind of weird melon growing on it . These were in addition to the fig tree they had had growing before I bought my place . The fig tree had never grown much fruit , and the squirrels ate what did grow there . At any rate , one of the huge oleanders that died , grew across the fence from their fig tree . It did , however , have a small sprout growing at it's base . I pulled out the dead oleander and began feeding and watering the sprout . Poor thing has routinely been abused by others who didn't know I was trying to save it , but that's a different story . It's finally growing , again . But the fig tree , which they don't harvest , has been escathic , for the fertilizer and watering , I give the little oleander . And is producing heavily . Last two years , when the melons they planted dropped in my yard , I've been gently tossing them over the fence into their yard . This year they've got an additional vine , hanging over the fence , and loaded with some kind of l o n thing bean pods . So the question is , if what they plant is growing in my yard , and isn't being harvested , do I let it rot , return it to my (nasty) neighbors , or harvest it ?