Transformation Tuesday: Protecting Mature Trees

This section of the client's yard from last week was mostly dirt with some beautiful, mature spruces. There were railroad ties that were used to prevent erosion, but as you can see in the picture the dirt knocked one section down.

The first step was to remove the railroad ties and bring in the landscape block. The wall in last week's Transformation was three blocks high, this wall going 5 blocks high.

Why you may ask?

The reason for this had to do with the mature trees. We needed to keep the ground level at the base of the trunk and couldn’t add too much dirt (it would suffocate the tree) or take away too much dirt (it would expose the root system). A coyote fence was also installed to give the client an enclosed backyard that was separate from the rest of the property.

Next, it was time to trench the dry river bed. After the trenching was done, we planted the Blue Mist Spirea and the Karl Forester grass. The final step of this transformation was gravel. The weed barrier was laid, and Santa Fe Brown was spread on the top level, with Pueblo Rose spread on the bottom. The team placed the 2-4" River Rock in the dry river bed and this transformation was complete!

Keep an eye out for next week's transformation to see a different angle of this section of the yard!