Two things: 1) the vegetable hair roots get into the wood. I had noticed that also with smaller chunks of wood buried in beds. If you worry about nitrogen, please notice that vegetables go out of their way to get into wood. 2) it is amazing how fine and broken down the soil becomes within a season. I think it is due to mycelium filaments, not readily visible by the human eye, running all over the place. This was tough clay, and the four logs (about 2.5 ft long and 5 inches wide) were placed as the sides of a square, yet the soil was finely tilled all the way to the center of the square. Each four logs was a newly planted fruit tree taken down by deer, so I was able to check this many times. No, it was not the tree roots which were small.

She is a member of our Long Island Daylily Society Club, although has never been to any of the meetings I have been at as far as I have noticed. But she is known for her hybridizing of late season blooming daylilies and that is what she sells, her own intros. I have never been to her garden, although I would love to visit one day. Be sure and tell us how you liked the garden.

Do you have any neighbors that installed pools? It also helps to ask other folks in "the contractor industry" who might know pool builders. I constantly read online reviews ... often on Yelp (do you have a NextDoor?), but sometimes the best referral is just start asking everyone you run into if they know someone. And the best pool builders usually have a waiting list (or it takes longer) so it's beneficial to choose well in advance to actual build. Plus, the costs are always higher so gives time to save money! I noticed that wherever we went, whether building stores, pool supply stores, all the subcontractor parts, our pool builder had a wonderful reputation and folks loved working with him. Good luck with your project!

Talking about hoses, I have given up on garden hose altogether and have started to make my own. About 13 years ago I bought a house that the last owner gifted me a hose that he made for his rv made from automotive heater hose. He told me it was about 15 years old at that time ( I still have it) I found myself going through garden hoses every year are 2 if it was a good one and the price for a good hose is not cheap. So a couple of years ago after going through 3 hoses in 2 years for my front yard at this house I decided to see how much it would cost if I made one like the other one. Turns out not much more than a good hose from home depot so I made 1. Bought the hose by the foot from a local automotive parts store and ends brass ends from ace and put it together. Now I have a hose that will last 20+ years and the 1 given to me is still going strong and it is about 28 years old but they do kink but they don't break and they can take the Florida heat and not dry rot and take being under pressure. Problem solved with the hoses.