Just more of the same. We lost the cherry tree in the front yard. I pulled it up to find that the hole then filled up with water. Seems that there is a clay layer just about 24” under the surface. The clay stays wet, so the cherry tree got root rot and died. So, I used my drill/hammer with the 3’ auger and drilled drain holes through the bottom. The clay will stay wet, but the main root ball should drain some. Then off we went to get another tree. We wanted to get another cherry….. We ended up getting a cherry, another river birch and 3 globe willows. Can’t seem to help ourselves. Oh, we lost 2 of arborvitaes on the berm so we got another 6 (?) giant green thujas to replace and add to them. So our tree count has exceeded 170. [Our neighbor to the south has (years ago) built up his acreage taller than ours. He then floods the grass as the water runs off into our meadow (acreage), So we have lost 4 or 5 of the small 24” fir trees planted along the south border] We will replace them in the future with river birch and/or willows.
Anna Gail was here on Friday to help me dig out (widen and deepen) the front yard location and install the river birch there. She then helped me do the same for the cherry tree in the back yard. Our neighbor, Wes, had come over a few times with his tractor and auger to start drilling the location holes. Due to the clay, it was restricted as to the depth, but I soaked each hole for a week and Anna and I were able to clear out the resulting clay/mud down to about four feet and 30 to 40 inches wide. Then on Saturday evening, after the sun went down, Eloise and I scooped out and planted the first of the globe willows in the meadow, outside the back yard. Two more holes have been started on the south side of the meadow and the remaining willows will go there. With the overwatering, they should be fine there.
While he was here, Wes also drilled the six holes for the pergola posts. Larry is scheduled to come up this Thursday and help me build it. We are also building a cabinet/storage room in the back and will match it to the house siding. We can then store the stuff on the rear patio there. We also have 2 alcoves on each side of the house created by the private yard fencing. I am planning to put a roof over them and plywood doors to match the fence. This should put everything out of sight of the covered patio, hot tub gazebo and firepit seating.
Caldwell Crier 