Anyone ever hear of "hard dirt"?

Probably just clay.

A bane to many cause it is hard to get grass to grow in it.

Lou

That makes sense to you? The roots are flush with the top of where the new pour is going and you think it's ok to just pour concrete around them? Should look great. And regardless of how it looks, it's going to fail. Even if the roots are just BELOW the concrete they will eventually cause it to beak up.

She said she talked to someone and all she could come

Your county probably has a tree expert on hand that will come out free and give ideas that will last and not hurt the tree. Neither of you know what is right for the tree and to make it last.

Crushed stone? I know it is used for underlayment for pavers. Use compacter for that.

They may be talking about "soilcrete" where you till portland cement into the existing soil, compact it and wet it down. It was all the rage in the late 70s but quickly disappeared. I am guessing it didn't work that well. I did do some here about 25 years ago but it is under a low deck so I have no idea how well it would have actually worked out in the open. I just wanted to stabilize the dirt and make sure grass wouldn't grow. It did get pretty hard but there is no traffic over it..

Actually, no. I was ambiguous in the description. By "pour around the roots" I actually nmeant to covey that I would be pouring around the roots, but not up to the roots, in much the same way boat goes around an island or a plane goes around a mountain.

Anyway , the stuff I was looking for is decomposed granite with a stabilizer mixed in.

The laday called a tree guy out and he recommended decomposed granite with a stabilizer. Plan on pouring conc where root free and DG near the roots.

that's the stuff between your ears.

he sounds more like Major Dumbass.

Not bad for a dumbass: