Creating a bed around existing shrubs

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Dealing with an area that has 2 larger trees and about 6-8 smaller shrubs acting as a divider between property lines. There's grass on my side but as you get within about 3-4 feet of the tree/shrub line, the grass has struggled to grow as the trees and shrubs have gotten bigger and blocked the sun... so it has become sparse grass and mostly weeds. Looking to turn this area into a mulch bed with either some perennials or just some basic ground cover.

What's the best way to prepare this area for this? I've read about "smothering" the area with newspaper to kill everything off, but that seems to be suggested for fall/winter. I don't think chemicals would be the best option either since there are existing plants still growing there, and also since I'll be planting additional things. I'd like to do a deep tilling, the only issue is that some of the weeds are around the shrubs so I don't really want to till too closely to them.

Would a combination work? Till the main area (being delicate as I get close to the shrubs), then put down some newspaper covered with dirt, cut a few holes to plant ground cover, then cover with mulch?

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Comments (2)

gmn14
Original Author
8 years ago
Help?
posierosie_zone7a
8 years ago
Hmm, I have created beds around shrubs and trees. You probably want to simply pull weeds (use a trowel to loosen roots then wiggle a bit and pull) and lay down a very thin layer of newspaper and weigh down with a thin layer of mulch in the areas nothing but straggling weeds are growing. You don't want to disturb or smother roots just under the surface.

Before tilling, I would suggest going out with a shovel and seeing just how congested with roots the area where grass and weeds are growing in abundance. If light, a till might be okay. If you find a lot of roots, consider stepping your flower bed further away from the trees and then using the lasagna layer method to smother the grass and weeds. It works the same as when you leave out a kiddie pool too long and get a round circle of dead grass. You can do it now and plant in Fall. There's no specific time. It's just you will be looking at a bare mulched bed for a good bit of the summer.

The only reason to be cautious is you probably want to avoid tree removal bill. I don't know your trees and I really don't know which trees tolerate nearby gardens than others. Therefore, my guidance is cautious. I see people all the time doing things right against trees and the short term response is the tree seems just fine. However , my father in law worked hard to get every root out of his vegetable garden and ended up killing a nearby oak. It cost $3k to remove due to size and proximity to nearby structures.

There's lot of advice and many garden near trees. Enjoy and share pictures!