You and the trees would be happier with a living green mulch that absorbs and eats all the droppings the way nature intended. Plant a groundcover under your trees.

Jacaranda - Mimosa Let's go tropical groundcovers. Lots to choose from - pothos, epipremnum, nephrolepsis ferns, Blue Daze, Rheo. Perennial peanut, wedelia, liriope, mondo and and and......

I would use wood chips, not bark. Wood chips tend to be more varied in size, so that the droppings would blend in better. Wood chip mulch is also good for the soil, as are the droppings. Arborists wood chips would blend even better - they are what one can sometimes get for free from tree trimming companies and contain both wood and leaves.

I have a nice thick layer of wood chips and if dropped leaves bother me I rake a bit to blend them into the chips.

@Christopher C Nc : I am looking to keep it water-efficient yard, so adding any more tropical plants would need more water

@socalgal_gw Zone USDA 10b Sunset 24 : Good point, wood chips could an option. These trees drop a lot of small flowers/ seeds/fine leaves, do you think wood chips can hide it well or I will take on a maintenance nightmare.

I think it will depend on the color of the droppings and your tolerance level. I’m so happy with the good effects of wood chips and leaves on my soil that I can tolerate imperfections in looks. In terms of shape I think they will blend in because the chips vary in shape and size, at least mine do. Color depends on the age of the wood chips (mine eventually turn more gray) and the color of the dropped leaves/flowers. Here are leaves from a flowering pear that have fallen onto wood chips that are a few months old.

These trees drop a lot of small flowers/ seeds/fine leaves, do you think wood chips can hide it well

Your motivation is you don't like how the spent parts look. So you need to plant ground covering plants to hide them. There is nothing inherent about doing this that would increase the need for watering (after the establishment phase) - entire decorative landscapes from tree height on down are made by others using drought adapted plants.

Ditto what Embothrium said. The right groundcover for your specific conditions should need no more water than what the Jacaranda and Mimosa are living on even if you are in a dry climate.

I'll also agree that the irregularity of arborists wood chips will hide the droppings better than a uniform bagged or processed mulch and be more conducive to allowing the debris to stay on the ground and decompose the way nature intends for it to be.

Decomposed granite and gravel will highlight the debris. A blower is really the only effective cleaning method. How compulsive you might be about it will determine how often you will need to blow it.

What is under the trees now?

So far it's been a big flat land with dried grass, previous homeowners didn't do any maintenance. I am looking to add some curb appeal with a water-efficient garden. A portion of the area will have mounds planted with succulents and covered with lava rock and a DG path way. Just the area under the tree, I wasn't sure what to do.

Not obsessed with a super clean look, blowing every two to three weeks (myself or a gardener) is something I can tolerate. More than how clear of debris it is, how much time does it take to bring it to a reasonable shape is my concern. If blowing for 10-15mins every few weeks gets the job done then very much acceptable, even better with not doing at all if it blends in :)

Thanks for your inputs. I have heavy clay soil so I do like the idea of natural mulch that can eventually enrich the soil.

I recommend mulch comprised of Jacaranda and Mimosa tree leaves. Spread neatly in the desired area. It will perfectly camouflage the offending fallen leaves. Replenishing the mulch will be a snap. Everything can be nicely tied together with a single brief session of psychotherapy.

a lightweight battery powered leaf blower and blow the leaves and blooms into your lawn on days you are going to mow the lawn. Cleans up the mess and makes your lawn happier.

If you have a wood chip mulch, for the most part you wouldn't need to blow away the fallen leaves etc but just lightly rake to mix them up. In most cases the fallen stuff will blend in well and start to decompose pretty quickly (depends a bit on climate). Or just run over it with a lawn mower to break up/speed the process and leave in place (if ground cover that grows back, that too). Worst case - although I rarely do this - you can rake up the leaves/fallen stuff and leave the wood chips in place, anything left behind will not be noticeable.

Of course depends how neat you wish to be. Personally I'd not touch the stones and gravel, and if you change your mind later, very not fun to remove.

I agree with the leaf suggestion. leaf mulch is easy to get, and provides good ground cover. If you like you can add a boarder of stones,bricks, etc. to delineate the mulched area from the yard.

As for the material that falls from the trees, a rotary mower makes quick work of them. Start a couple mower width from the boarder and blow the cuttings into the mulch area. I even mow up the "small" twigs and branches so I usually do no pre mowing clean up.

When mowing grass I always discharge the clipping into the unmowed area. By the time I am finished there is no grass clippings to dispose of as they work their way into the grass and improve the soil with their nutrients.

The ground cover is also a good idea, depending on what you use. Some look messier than now cover at all.

stone and mulch.. will rake or be blown away.. just like the detritus you wish to remove ...

i dont understand why you just dont leave it ... as a function of the glorious plants .. why force your aesthetic on it ...

its akin to the peeps who have these gorgeous pines trees.. and spend months removing all the natural fallen pine needles .. and then complaining nothing will grow under the tree ... dude .. or dudette ... crikey.. the tree is taking care of itself... why are you insisting on growing grass under it ... i became aware of this conundrum ... when i realized other peeps paid big money to ship in pine needles.. as one of the best mulches ... lol ...

let the plant mulch itself ... and learn to accept what it gives ...

ken

I like the ground cover idea. I notice that fall leaves disappear off my pachysandra. I don't know if they fall thru the plants or if they blow off?

But if you want the mulch look you might keep a pile and occasionally add a little more to your beds. This option would allow you to ignore the size. I would suggest hardwood bark or mushroom compost. Hardwood bark doesn't change color over the season and bark doesn't attract termites like wood chips.