Landscaping

Daniela N
by Daniela N
we recently had our water lines replaced and now we are left with a lot of dirt! (look at pics) This is located in our front yard, south facing. What can we plant here that would be low maintenance, and that would not be create a problem to the foundation of the house. Also the tall "holly tree" has been removed (see last picture). we live in Tennessee
replacing water line
now just a bunch of dirt!
  6 answers
  • Mullan Nursery Co. Inc. Mullan Nursery Co. Inc. on Aug 01, 2012
    Is it full or partial sun? Did the contractor use a power tamper when he back filled? There could be some settlement issues if he did not.
  • Daniela N Daniela N on Aug 01, 2012
    it is pretty much full sun all day. I think he did some, but at that point the tree was still on the left side, and the front porch is right there on the right, so it was kind of hard to manuver that thing.
  • Jeanette S Jeanette S on Aug 01, 2012
    Usually when a line is laid, they do not tamp. Do not level this area, Place all the dirt up on the dug out space because over time it will level itself. Otherwise, you will have a dip in your yard! We took a hoe handle and poked down into the lines of our sprinkler system after a few rains to tamp out hollow spots!
  • Daniela N Daniela N on Aug 01, 2012
    thanks Jeanette! we are hoping for rain soon!
  • The fast method of packing the soil is to pile it on where the digging occurred. Then take a hose and attach a three foot metal rod to the end. A half inch pipe soldered or fastened to a fitting that will connect to the male end of the hose is what you need. You can get those parts at your local hardware or big box store. What your really looking to do is to build a spray wand much like you would find on a power washer. In fact if you have access to one of these it will work as well, Just be sure to keep the pressure down as much as you can. Or plan on getting really dirty. But it works. Then turn on the water and push the rod down into the soil. This will cause the soil to liquidate and settle real quick. After a short while you need to keep moving down the dig until you reach the other end. Do this every day for about a week and you should see your yard level once again. If they removed soil, be prepared to replace with more. You can also get this same tool where you get fertilizers for trees. They make a tool that has a hose fitting attached and a long rod that connects to a fertilizing attachment. This tool is used to deeply fertilize the root system.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Aug 02, 2012
    It's hard to tell how much space you have there, but one of my favorite low-growing evergreens is Russian cypress (Microbiata decussata).