I have a huge backyard with 3 trees in it.My problem is that they are in a row along the right side of the yard and they are OLD trees with the roots going and now expanding over the backyard. I want to try and make room for a flowergarden but there are roots everywhere. Help!!!

 

Lisa, Your best bet when tree roots are close to the surgace and you cannot put a garden in elsewhere is to choose low growing, shade tolerant plants and work them in amoung the tree roots. Rough up the soil where the plant(s) will be going enough for the plant to make contact with the soil but not enough that the tree roots are seriously damaged and then add new soil to build up the surface to a level that covers the root ball of the new plant(s). Be sure not to cover the tree roots of more than 1/3 of the root mass at any one time if you are adding more than a few inches of soil for the new plants. If you end up adding soil to most of the areas around the trees, leave a 5-6 foot ring around the tree of soil at the original level even if you need to make a retaining wall in a well type arrangement.