My mixed sun/shade yard needs your advice! help!!

Joined
Mar 24, 2013
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
I love to plant but I feel like my yard is whipping my tail every year!! We have SEVERAL larger pin oaks directly in front of our house. They provide much needed shade in summer as the sun rises in front of our house however, they make making the front of my yard beautiful.... DIFFICULT! One end of the bed gets hit by the hot afternoon sun and a couple of "shine thru" spots where branches don't cover the afternoon spots right there. I would really appreciate your expert advice!! I am in Georgia zone 7B.

I have a rock bordered (what I wanted to be a beautiful) flower bed around the edge of this tree clump. Roughly about a 10w x 30l area. There are 4 pin oaks of good size inside this area. There is also a privet hedge- that my husband tells me we need to get rid of but I don't because 1) it smells heavenly when it blooms & 2) I'm afraid nothing else will ever grow and at least it's something green in there!! about 4 feet outside and our mammoth beauty about 15 feet away & this one is so big it alone can shade the front of our house until noon sun. So- I have a lot of trees... And a LOT OF ROOTS especially inside the rock flower bed. I planted a few irises on t he border, some lamb's ear inside, two azaleas, some monkey grass...these things grow-- but they don't--- GROW. I WOULD LOVE To fill in this space more and give more color/depth to this space. Not to mention the curb appeal it would offer... Can anyone offer me ideas on what I can get to grow happily in a space where trees are the boss. I know they are probably taking much of the nutrients the plants need it but cutting them is just not an option. I am open to all ideas-- shrubs, plants, flowers, whatever will fill in all this empty space. I would prefer perineal a but don't mind planting accenting annuals.

Your help is more appreciated that you know!!!!!!! THANK YOU!!
 
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
4,180
Reaction score
2,717
Hardiness Zone
9a
Country
United Kingdom
Hi Chastity, welcome to the forums! Sounds like you've got a tricky situation but I'm sure there is something that can be done. It would be really helpful to see some photos - do you have any?
 

zigs

Cactus Grower, Kent.
Moderator
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
9,737
Reaction score
11,635
Location
Kent
Hardiness Zone
9a
Country
United Kingdom
Tis a difficult one, even with raised beds under trees the roots will grow up into them if they find a source of nutrient and water. Best thing would be to dig it out and put down a layer of Geotextile under the bed, stop the roots getting into it.

I'm only wild flower & veg so i'm not much use on shrubs & cultivated flowers.

There are woodland plants such as Wild Garlic, Bluebells, Primroses, Snowdrops etc. that do well under trees, but these do their flowering & seed setting before the tree canopy shades them out.
 
Joined
Sep 29, 2012
Messages
3,404
Reaction score
1,120
Location
Louisiana
Hardiness Zone
9b
Country
United States
Where I live there are large oaks all over town. People have surrounded them with native plants that are natural companions for the climate. I agree with you about the hedge, if it's been growing there successfully, you should leave it in place. If I were you I would look for a local authority on native plants in your area and get some suggestion from them.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads


Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
27,772
Messages
263,906
Members
14,502
Latest member
mrbones195

Latest Threads

Top