I ran into a similar situation at my "new house" about 5 years ago. I thought there was a large raised island bed under a huge scotch pine tree... but when I poked around a little, I realized that it was a dumping ground for the previous owner's woodstove ashes, charcoal fires, and lots of other junk/debris. I just removed the big hunks of things (half bricks, toy cars, large pieces of charcoal, etc.) that I ran into while working/planting. I ammended the planting holes, then just put in simple annuals to start. They grew fine, actually. I also dedicated one end of that "island" as an open compost area. In spring, I move the finished compost onto the remainder of the 'bed', and start adding new input again. After 5 years of doing this, you'd never guess the mess I had started with. Given my experience, I'd say that a butterfly/cutting garden is the perfect way for you to start. Many candidate plants are the kind that aren't fussy about their conditions. :)

Nice powers of deduction! Here's some more info: the house was built in 1996 and I think the first owner didn't have many trees or landscaping. (But I think there would have been another tree planted in addition to the pine? Maybe it died). Our neighbors told us the first owner put in some terrible grass (tall fescue?) and you can still see some clumps in that spring picture, it's finally almost gone. Anyway, the next people lived there from 2002-2010 and they filled the back yard with so many trees, most of them probably came from the local nursery (I found a tag on a few bushes). So I wouldn't be surprised if they planted something in the front, on the other hand they might have been happy to have a volunteer. They were definitely tree people. There are some Siberian Elms growing like weeds in the general area (mostly in older neighborhoods and along some creeks/ditches) but none within a couple blocks that I have noticed. I had read somewhere that our area was too cold for Chinese Elm to do well but there may be be some around. I'll ask some other neighbors if they remember the tree. This post was edited by olreader on Sat, Nov 2, 13 at 11:36

Sharon I can't find the pictures of your path. I just started my adventure into gardening last year with vegetables. I was dared by my husband and that was all I needed. With the help of my dear fiend, (a master gardner and mentor) I cut down the necessary trees the next day and had the veggies & planted within the next 3days..so much for challenges in my family. I just made new beds and paths for my new perineal garden....a work in progress since it is just me and limited funds. For my paths, I called my tree man and asked if he would bring tree clipping from his jobs. To my surprise I ended up with 3 huge loads that I made my paths, saving the rest to season. Maybe not the best material for a path, but it was free and it fades into my landscape nicely. Now I am adding plants as I can afford. Love this site.

JD: Those are wonderful big rocks! I wish I had some (so long as I don't have to move them myself). You've made a very good start with your perennial mounds. I'm looking forward to seeing the next stage. I like your cairns. Last winter we had to have our septic tank pumped out (sorry for the unpleasant image, but there's a good side). They had to dig into the edge of a flower bed to find one manhole and they disrupted a number of stones I had bordering the bed. The cleanup guy was ready to haul the stones across the street, but I asked him to just pile them up in place after he backfilled the holes. I figured I'd use the stones to mark the location of the manholes until I could landscape in the spring. I didn't hang around for the backfill, and when I went out after they'd left I discovered two cairns marking the manhole locations. Not at all what I expected, but I was delighted. Those cairns cheered me up for weeks but the squirrels kept knocking them over so I sadly relocated the stones. Claire