Get your own
 diary at DiaryLand.com! contact me older entries newest entry

8:40 a.m. - 2006-04-16
I have sand everywhere

The Treehouse Tree

Now that spring has sprung we are spending much time outside...mostly doing yardwork. Actually we had summer the other day. An almost 90 degree day with high humidity. It was warm enough to sit out in the yard at night. Having never lived in a neighborhood as an adult, I enjoyed sitting in my private yard whilst hearing happy voices floating from other backyards...people talking, children playing, dogs barking. It was neighbor music.

The base of the tree that housed the former treehouse was surrounded by landscape timbers fastened to the ground with long pieces of rebar and the cavity filled with sand. The roots of the tree have taken over the sand forming an almost rock hard mass.

My first plan was to build a foot high retaining wall around the tree, put weed mat on top of the sand and fill it with dirt in order to plant a perennial garden. For three days I thought about the mechanics of bringing 90, 25 pound blocks home from the home improvement store and hauling them into the back yard. The area needed to be prepped and builing a wall is not an easy task. After mentally exhausting myself over this, I decided to see what I could do about breaking the sand down and making it a level to the ground garden.

Mike and I both shoveled and raked and turned dirt and filled wheel barrow after wheel barrow with sand to disperse in other parts of the garden, pulling up fiberous roots as we went, hacking them off with a lopper and the level of the sand never seemed to go down.

Finally we reached a point where we could at least get a glimpse of the bottom of the sand/root pile and discovered a big sheet of plastic under the sand. The plastic didn't stop the roots so I guess weedmat wouldn't have either. The roots have not only grown into the sand, they have incorporated themselves into the plastic holding it fast to the ground.

It was about 5PM and we were spent, having worked for 7 hours on this one area of a huge yard that needs much work. Now I am wondering....do I keep hacking away at that sand and try to get at that plastic....or do I come up with another solution?

Today is Easter and will be rainy....two reasons (as well as my aching back) that I will not be in the garden today. Maybe a solution will come to me. Does anyone know of a ground cover tha grows in the Northern Midwest in pure sand????? If so....do tell...it will save me much work.

Happy Easter All.

P. I. Yarnsmith

previous - next

about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!