My neighbour complained that our tree was ruining her garden's light – here's the expert-approved way I handled it

Large garden laid mostly to lawn with trees and shrubs to its side, and a house in the distance.

Let's face it, everyone wants to avoid neighbour disputes, especially when you actually like the people you live next door to. So when our (lovely) neighbour told us our hornbeam tree was blocking too much light into her garden, I got really worried that the situation could turn awkward.

She's actually been incredibly nice since we moved in, so the last thing I wanted was tension between us, especially while we were already getting work done on our house. The whole situation sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole, wondering if you can actually complain about a neighbour's tree blocking your light.