Major clearing will need to be done to turn this weedy, rooty bit of ground into a proper garden. Most of the major deciduous trees will stay, as well as the Dogwoods, but all the undergrowth, except the ferns, will have to go. In addition, there is the remnant of a huge pile of wood chips and probably 3 chords of pine logs, the results of the north neighbor's removal of a row of pines along his boundary. The wood chips will come in handy and I'll use the logs on another project, since they don't make good firewood. But, the logs have to be moved.
I've been looking at this area for several months. While the clearing for the tennis court let in a lot of light from the side, there is a heavy overhead canopy that will make it tough to grow my plants well. Part of this was created by two large Box Elders (one of my most hated weed trees), so the decision to take them out wasn't hard to make. There's also a very old and half dead Black Locust that has to go. It is too big for us to handle, so it will have to wait until we can manage bringing in a tree service. A day's work with two chainsaws and the Box Elders are now a brush pile and a log pile. Removing them has created a nice area of almost full sun on the west side. This will enable me to plant evergreens and give them a good start in life.
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