Preparing a Site for Landscaping

If you have recently purchased a home, or built a new home that has been on a new development, and you want to add some beautification to it via landscaping, it is essential that the site is fully prepared. Having a fully prepared site means that any dead tree stumps should be removed, rather than integrated into the landscaping; dead tree stumps are unattractive, and can shoot up new roots, causing destruction to any new structures.

If you have a large scale landscaping project to do, meaning an entire garden renovation on an existing property, or a new landscaping design on a recently built house, ensuring that any pre-existing trees that have been removed have their stumps bored out of the ground also. Having a clean area with which to work will ensure that any gardening work carried out will not be interfered with by unwanted tree stumps or roots.

Tree stumps can be manually removed, burned out, slowly chipped out with an axe, or dug out, but generally the fastest and safest way to remove the stumps is to hire a stump grinding contractor. A stump grinding contractor is called in after a tree lopper has removed any trees, and prior to any new building work or landscaping is implemented. A tree stump grinding contractor will also be called out should a new pool or garage going to be installed on a property, and any stumps that need to be removed need attending to.

Once the tree stump grinding contractor has removed all of the stumps from a building or landscaping site, where the roots and the stump were will need to be filled with topsoil. The topsoil is necessary to create an even surface with which to build a garden on, or to anchor a foundation. Sometimes an entire area will be dug out, depending on the structure, in this case filling with topsoil is not necessary.

The ground up tree stump can form mulch.

The ground up tree stump can form mulch and be used as a top dressing over the new garden, unless you wish for the stump grinding company to cart away the mulch. It is advisable to purchase quality soil that is the same type as the soil that is on your property, to ensure that the ground is stable. If any addition to the soil needs to occur, then adding different things to the future garden bed such as manure or other compost can help enrich the soil for the landscaping.

If other structures such as paving or a pergola are to go where the tree stump was, then the soil underneath should be left to settle for several weeks prior to building, in order to prevent any sagging of the ground underneath when a structure is built.

Paving can also crack, or concrete be damaged if the soil is not properly compacted and a site prepared poorly. It is better to wait a few weeks, and top up the soil if necessary, and re-compact the ground in order to ensure a stable foundation for landscaping such as concrete work, tiling and paving.

If a garden bed is going to be laid out where the tree stump was, then it is also advisable to back fill with the appropriate amount of topsoil, compact it and also add other organic material to the site in order to promote healthy growth of new plants.

Having old unsightly tree stumps removed in order to make way for new structures or landscaping will enhance and add value to your home, and prevent any disruption to structures or new gardens.