Reduced erosion

So far so good after the recent storms. This area used to get a lot of surface runoff, becoming a river of erosion after each rain. Now it looks controlled. The trench drain system seems to be working well. Fast heavy water entering the trench gets carried to the back without losing a drop. Slow water too, gladly. Knock on wood. Newest tree (Brisbane box) is visible at the top center of photo, and surviving okay.



There's one more potential cause of erosion, however... subsurface water coming through the house foundation! Kinda scary, but apparently rainwater from the front yard runs underneath the driveway slab, flowing under the foundation grade beam, creating rivulets in the crawl space, pushing out again into the backyard, then runs under another small concrete walk, finally trickling onto this muddy path, as seen in the photo foreground. Relatively mild, but I'll definitely have to create a solution soon.

Brisbane box

Lophostemon confertus
(formerly Tristania confertus)

An evergreen tree to 30-50 feet in height with an equal spread. Upright growth habit when young, broadens with age, clusters of white 3/4 inch flowers bloom in summer. Produces woody fruit capsules. Red-brown bark peals to show lighter colored bark. Tolerates most any soil. Needs little to no summer water when established. Best in full sun, but will tolerate some shade. Prune branch tips when young for a full, well branched tree. No inspect or disease problems. Good street or lawn tree. Keep lower leaves for one or more seasons when young to provide extra growth energy.

5-gallon from East Bay Nursery $40