Crepe myrtle hardscape

I improve the sloppy job I did surrounding a tree with white stream pebbles.

There was a scrawny crepe myrtle tree in my front yard. By trimming and fertilizing it, and killing the carpenter ant colony in the trunk, I have nursed it back to health. Since the tree is away from the oak trees, very few leaves fall near this tree. Accordingly, I wanted to put stones down in a circle around the tree. I liked this look after seeing it in the retirement community I used to live in.

A few years ago, I did a lousy job by just spreading some white stream pebbles around the tree. One problem is that what Home Depot sells as a smaller rock, 1.5 inches, the pallet shows up and they are closer to 3-inch. I mixed in some smaller stones from Loews and Walmart, when they had them. Now it's time to put landscape fabric under the stones, and to use the stones on another bush to fill in circle.

This was how lame my first attempt was. Martin Delateur explained the stones look great the first year, so-so the second, then terrible. I spread bed quilts to toss the stones onto. To make a perfect circle around the tree, I learned to use a rope and this trenching shovel.

The circle is defined, but there is a lot of sod to lift up to make room for the stones. I piled the sod on the lawnmower, and moved it to the side of the house. I placed the sod around a French drain for the screen room gutter, and to make an entry ramp.

The trenching shovel also did great lifting up the sod. A regular shovel was too hard to use. This is the landscape fabric I put under the stones. It prevents weeds, and sinking stones. I did not realize the landscape fabric was doubled up and folded over on the roll.

One I unfolded the fabric, it only took two pieces to cover the area. Corners untrimmed. The stones from this tree barely made a ring around the periphery. I got more stones from a bush I did years before. Corners are trimmed. Looking better, but needs a few more stones.

This is the next day, I was too tired to do the job in one day. The lawnmower moved the stones. Here is the hardscaping done, it looks much better, and the tree will grow to fit it. This is the bush where I took the stones. I may put stones down here, not sure.

Crepe myrtle hardscape

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