Project details
Skill
Cost
Estimated Time
Tools & Materials
Compact utility loader
Long, heavy chain
Spade shovel
In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook enhances curb appeal with new plantings.
Steps:
1. Remove the bucket from the front of the compact utility loader, and install the steel-tooth attachment.
2. Drive the compact utility loader up to one of the foundation shrubs.
3. Wrap a long, heavy chain around the shrub, then attach the chain to the steel teeth on the utility loader.
4. Use the loader to pull the shrub out of the ground.
5. Unhook the chain, then bang the shrub on the ground to knock excess soil from the root ball. Discard the shrub.
6. Continue to yank out shrubs with the compact utility loader.
7. Call the utility company to mark for underground cable and gas lines.
8. If a cable or line runs under or very close to a plant, don’t yank it out. Instead, use a chainsaw to cut the plant flush with the ground. Leave the stump in place.
9. Set new plants at least 24-inches from the foundation, and arrange them in a staggered pattern.
10. Dig holes for new plants using a pointed shovel.