Auf Wiedersehen, weed tree!

Behind the garage, there’s a bit of space that has been mostly taken up by this really ugly weed tree. It shaded the area, hung over the garage, and made it impossible to access a majority of the space back there.

We had pruned the lower branches but it was definitely growing back in full form. The photo above is older (I show it because it illustrates the bushy lower branches that grow in every summer), but here’s what it looked like a little over a month ago:

Today I got motivated, dragged K out with me, and we took that motherfucker out!

Nice stump, eh?

Another day soon, when this has dried out a bit and we have more energy, we’ll take the Sawsall to it again and get it down even closer to the ground. I’m also planning to spray it with pruning seal, so it can’t continue to grow.

Here’s a view of the entire area, including the existing compost bins. We’ll also take out those branches and chop them up sometime soon. I just didn’t have the energy after doing all the other work today.

I need to come up with a plan for how to use this area now that it’s more accessible. I’m toying with the idea of making new compost bins farther in (perhaps using these? A bit pricey but cool) and then extending the existing veg garden into this area, but I’d also like to do something to hide this ugly fence. Oh, and to keep people from hopping over the fence, which they seem to like to do (on the far end – they go through on the other side of the garage). We hung a No Trespassing sign on the fence today after clearing out the brush, but I’m wondering if there are any quick-growing plants that would climb up the fence and be thorny/otherwise discouraging to potential fence-hoppers. The other factor is that there’s a manhole cover at the far end (that dirty, smudgy looking area), which obviously can’t be covered up or made completely inaccessible. Anyone have any ideas? What would you do it if it were your area?