How to Landscape Around Your Trees
Image by Pixabay
Introduction
So, you have planted and cultivated the perfect trees for your backyard—now what?
There are many fantastic options for landscaping around the trees in your backyard. We are going to talk about some of the best options for decorating the small areas around your trees as well as the best ways to do it to keep your trees happy and healthy.
Why Should You Landscape Around Your Trees?
Trees Surrounded by Beautiful Landscaping - Image by Garten_GG on Pixabay
Quite honestly, trees tend to be forgotten easily when you plan out your landscaping design. When trees are left with no landscaping at all, they tend to look bare and uncared for.
Trees without landscaping are also really difficult to mow around because you end up having to take your lawn mower over the roots. When they have a circle of mulch and/or a flower bed around them, it protects the bottoms of the trees from being damaged and/or weakened.
How to Landscape Around Your Trees Safely
Bricks Line a Mulched Garden Bed - Image by LouAnn Clark on Pixabay
So, first, let’s talk about how to landscape safely around your trees.
Trees are actually incredibly sensitive to any damage to their bark or roots. When you cause even minor injuries to your trees, you are actually inviting in diseases and invasive pests that could seriously damage or even kill them. Many different types of trees also have shallow roots, meaning they are very close to the surface of the soil and can easily be disturbed.
When digging around the roots, be very careful about how you do it. Use either a digging knife or a trowel to dig rather than a large shovel. If you do come across a root, move to a different spot. Also make sure that you don’t damage the bark at the bottom of the tree. Again, if your tree does get damaged in the process, it will invite pests and diseases into it.
The Best Tips for Landscaping Around Your Trees
Rocks, Flowers, & Shrubs Under an Evergreen Tree
So, what tips and tricks do we have for landscaping around trees? Quite a few, actually.
Mulching
You should begin by adding a few inches of either compost or organic mulch. This gives the plants you are using a natural floor to spread their roots in and will help them to thrive. Using mulch will also help retain extra moisture to ensure that the plants are getting some as well.
This is something you will want to do every spring, early on in the year. This will ensure that your plants are continuously thriving year after year.
The Size of Your Plants
Since you do have limited space for the roots of the plants you are putting around the tree, smaller seedlings are a better option. Having seedlings with small root balls is ideal because they won’t need more than a few inches in the soil.
Smaller plants will also adapt much more easily to being in a cramped area than larger plants and will not do any damage to your trees.
Choosing the Best Plants
Starting with just a few different varieties of plants is a great way to keep things simple and looking great. Have a lot of plants, but only a few different types. This also makes the process of finding small seedlings much easier.
Consider using plants that are fast-spreading ground covers to blanket the area quickly, but be wary of plants like ivy that will take over your whole backyard.
Because these plants are not going to be receiving an excess of sunlight or water, you are going to want to choose plants that can handle drought and that have leaves that always look good. The plants you choose won’t really have the opportunity to flower much, so greenery with aesthetically pleasing leaves is a better choice.
Mulch Borders
Once you have put in your mulch, chosen your plants, and put everything together, consider the edging around the mulch. Having a border to keep everything intact is a great way to do this. It can be as easy as lining a few natural stones around the circle of mulch. That way, it is easier to mow around and looks neater and more uniform.
You can make it as intricate as you want, though—making a border out of metal or wood can take a little more time but will look really nice once it is done.
If you have more time for mowing and landscaping, you can take your time and carefully edge and landscape around the mulch as well.
A Video on Proper Mulching Techniques
Originally published on July 13, 2018.
