Hell Strip Update

By Gail Leidigh, CSU Extension-Denver Master Gardener since 2021

In 2022 I revamped a small area of my hell strip that had been taken over by weeds and a volunteer tree, and it has done nicely since then. The blue flax (Linum lewisii) was especially stunning last spring, and the sulphur buckwheat (Eriogonum umbellatum) has spread out well in the last year. There are no sprinklers or irrigation in this area, but I give it a good soak from the hose about once a week during hot weeks and that has been sufficient.

Blue Flax and Buckwheat. Photo by Gail Leidigh

Last spring I began efforts to improve the larger hell strip area, surrounding two maple trees, to try and improve the health of the trees and address out-of-control weeds. For many years, this area was a deep layer of landscaping river rocks over weed barrier fabric – which was depriving those trees of needed water and nutrients, and of course, does nothing to actually prevent weeds! The rocks are also not great for the trees as they hold lots of heat. In fact, I have heard a spokesperson from the Denver Digs Trees program state they will not plant a tree in an area if it is surrounded by rocks such as this.

Removing the rocks was not going to be a fun job, and I tried various apps such as Task Rabbit to hire someone. I finally found a guy who agreed to take the job and who had a truck, but after two hours of digging around he left, sending me a message that the task was far worse than he anticipated, and then stopped responding to further messages. He never even got paid for those two hours – I felt bad about that!

The rocks and weeds need to go! Photo by Gail Leidigh

I contacted many other workers but they all declined the job, and I was at a loss what to do, until one day I was mowing the lawn and a lady walked by. After saying hello, she held up a sign that said “I need a job,” and somewhat jokingly, I gestured to the hell strip and said “well, if you can move these rocks?” She was immediately responding in the affirmative and waved her husband and young daughter over. I realized that they did not speak English, so we communicated with Google translate on our phones, and they agreed to move the rocks into a pile over in the corner. I was thrilled to finally have the job done and help this lovely family at the same time. They did an amazing job, and afterwards I placed a “free rocks” sign on the pile, hoping someone would want them.

Finally in December, a crew working nearby realized they could use the rocks for their project, and took them all – hooray! I was then able to start to slow process of pulling up the weed barrier fabric, which was basically disintegrating at this point. I discovered that one of the maple trees had been girdled by the fabric and rocks as it grew over the years.

This tree trunk was girdled by the fabric and rocks as it grew. Photo by Gail Leidigh

I am still deciding what the long-term plan for the area will be, but for now I am trying to stay on top of the weed maintenance and have put a layer of mulch down to hold water and suppress weeds.

Boring, but better! Photo by Gail Leidigh

If you are planning to tackle your hell strip, be sure to check out this article for good info and inspiration.