Paul,
Good job. I think your ability to document these two jobs helps folks see that they can do it too.
We don’t dig quite as much when we divert the downspout water.
We attach a perforated pipe to the downspout and snake it around the landscape. the pipe should be at least 12′ long. We trench about 18″, fill the trench with drain rock 1-2″ deep and then lay the pipe in the trench and cover it with soil and plant a native bunch grass meadow on top of this area.
An even faster way is to design a seasonal arroyo to accommodate the downspout water. The excavated soil can be used to build mounds for planting.
Alrie Middlebrook
