I have encountered a curious situation I'm hoping someone can solve.
When I started digging a hole to plant a young bush in my front yard, I saw 1-2 inches of wood chip mulch, then a black landscaping fabric, then soil, then TWO MORE layers of landscaping fabric, then finally a blue tarp that looks thick and possibility slightly water proof.
My question: What is the function of this tarp?
There are trees and other bushes just a few feat from where I dug. I can't imagine these plants rest above the blue tarp. So the tarp can't be sealing off that whole area. But could it be there to control/guide the surface water?
We are in upstate New York, in a forested area on the slop of a rocky hill. The landscaped yard is higher on the slope than the house. There's a french drain right below the area, before the house. Here are pictures:
Closeups of the hole and the tarp:
In case it helps, something similar was asked here before and everyone said remove the tarp but someone suggested it may have been put there to control the surface ground water. Here is the conversation: What's the function/purpose of the waterproof tarp a few inches beneath the ground in my yard?
I appreciate all help and clues! We moved here recently and I can't find out who did the landscaping. It's possible that it all was done many years ago.