This is the bed I have been working on. Hard to tell but the moles have totally destroyed it and most of the plants that were in it have died. So I removed the slate mulch to begin with. Not as easy as it sounds as a lot of it was buried under mole hill. Next I removed the remaining plants, a couple of Geums and some Campanula. Then I removed the top soil and put it in a couple of builders bags. Each one holds about a ton. The sub soil I piled up at one end. I raked the soil level. This gave me about 16 inches depth. Next I put down a piece of weed suppressing membrane and put back some of the sub soil Then the sub soil was moved onto the first piece of membrane and the next piece put down. The sub soil was then spread out over the whole area and the membrane trimmed to size. Finally the top soil was returned and the membrane properly buried. The next stage will be to plant it up, but that will have to wait until the soil has settled down. The paving slab covers our water meter so it has to be kept clear. The dead stuff at the far end is a rampant Clematis (My Angel) which is slowly being weed killed.
All that, in just one week? Amazing! It also looks very good. Let us have photos when you get the area re-planted, please.
All that hard work will surely keep the moles away now for you. I just hope they don't move to another bed and damage the plants in it too. I'm impressed at how you went about re-creating the bed and hope to see it all planted up once you're finished. :-D
Moles and gophers are such a nuisance, sure hope they leave you alone now, especially after all this work you've put in. Can't wait to see how things look as your new plantings go in.
There is no means of direct access to the bed from any of the surrounding soil, so a mole would have to travel overland to reach it. they are not keen on doing that. Also they would end up in a fairly confined area so would be easier to trap.
