Best Landscaping Secrets For Landscaping Around Trees

Unless you live in a clear cut suburb or somewhere in the Mojave, chances are good that you have at least a few trees in your yard. They provide a great deal of shade, color and dimension to your outdoor living space, but landscaping around trees can be a particular challenge that does need a bit of special attention.

The first step I recommend is one that the vast majority of people will automatically skip out of either laziness or inconvenience. You should contact a local arborist, horticulturist or a representative from the Forestry department to find out the proper ways to plant around the trees in your yard.

Planting the wrong things in the wrong way around the wrong trees can damage roots and even lead to the ultimate death of the tree. These professionals can assist you in establishing what is known as a protected root zone that can serve as an invaluable guide to planting flowers, shrubs and other landscaping plants with a minimum of problems.

Using Borders for Landscaping around Trees

In my own yard I have majestic old oak trees that are notorious for their large roots reaching great distances around the yard and exposing themselves above the ground. These exposed roots can be easily damaged by lawnmowers, weed eaters or even digging in the wrong area.

One way to protect these exposed roots is to surround them with landscaping borders. These borders can be easily placed and then the enclosed area can be filled with additional soil where the planting of small perennials and annual flowers will add beauty while protecting the root systems of your trees. Just take care while installing these borders that you don't inadvertently dig through those roots!

Know Their Needs

When deciding on plants for the landscaping around trees in your yard, consider the environment and the needs of the individual plants. Does the tree provide a tremendous amount of shade? Choose plants that thrive in these shady conditions. You should also consider the plants' need for water and nutrients as they will likely be different from the needs of the tree they are surrounding.

Protecting the Area

Just as it works in your vegetable garden, mulch can go great lengths toward beautifying and protecting the base of your trees. Not only does it make it look better, but mulch can also help to keep weeds to a minimum while simultaneously keeping moisture in the ground because mulch helps to curb evaporation of water in warmer climates.

When you do mulch, don't pile several inches of the stuff right up to the base of the tree. Trees need to breathe just like we do and this over mulching can smother the delicate base. Make sure the mulch isn't so thick that it prevents water and nutrients from reaching the roots!

Now that you know the best landscaping secrets, you will have a much less frustrating experience landscaping with trees in your own yard. Your landscape will be healthier and your yard will be the envy of the neighborhood.

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