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Location: Went around the corner & now I'm lost!!!!
1,544 posts, read 3,599,250 times
Reputation: 1243
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gettingaway
Hi,
I am new to gardening and lawn care. The front of our house is atrocious. I have a huge oak tree with leaves and acorns everywhere. Grass does not grow in that area. I don't know if I should just cover the entire area w/ mulch or have the oak removed. I really just want a neat front yard.
Texas has some of the most beautiful native plants that could be placed in that area. Look for a Master Gardener in your area to help you layout a design under that tree. I know they used to do it for free but not sure if they still are. They can even teach you how to conserve water with amendments and native plant choices. Remember water is on restriction so you want to plant accordingly.
PS
Most TX native plants only need 2" to 4 " of water A YEAR. That will help with your water bill for sure.
And when the leaves fall off the tree, it seems to me that they could be just blown off the foliage of the mondo grass with a blower, then raked up....or even, just blow them straight down into the foliage where they wouldn't show and let them rot and add to the soil. With live oaks this would be easier to do because, as someone else said, they don't lose all their leaves at once in a big wad.
Many folks plant Cast Iron plants around the base of Live oaks, but I wouldn't fill up the whole area in the OP's pic with them. Maybe a ring of Cast Iron plant around the trunk, then something else a little farther out.
You shouldn't go destroying ferns in their natural setting. I take it that the woods aren't yours either, so you'd be stealing as well. Some people.
^^ This.
Ferns are beautiful, but native ferns have precise growing condition requirements, which can be hard to duplicate in a garden. If you like the woodsy look, I'd suggest checking with a garden center which specializes in shade plants - they will have ferns that will work for you, and they're not all that costly, unless you want really big ones.
Christmas fern is evergreen (more or less), native to much of the eastern U.S., and probably the hardiest of the native ferns. Japanese painted fern is perennial (not evergreen) and has very attractive foliage that blends well with American native ferns. Ostrich ferns are big suckers and make a splashy appearance, but are not evergreen. There are many others, but these are probably the easiest to find in garden centers. Boston ferns are also nice, but must be treated as annuals in most of the U.S. - they're the ones which are often used in hanging baskets.
Jack's point about the ownership of the woods is worth noting, too. I'd be pretty unhappy to find someone helping themselves to plants from my own woods.
However - there's always an exception! If the woods in question are about to be cut down for some (probably stupid) reason, ask the foreman if you can dig plants. A friend of mine rescued some beautiful wildflowers from an area about to be flooded by a dam a good many years ago. She researched their growing requirements, planted them in a shady area on the northeast side of her house, watered them well, and had a nice trillium grandiflora colony to show for her efforts.
Back to the oak tree: OP, you've received some good advice. Cherish your nice tree, if it's healthy, learn what variety of oak it is, see what its natural environment is like and what its requirements are (it's probably very happy where it is, since it's a mature tree now), walk around your new neighborhood and see if you can spot others, then see how the property owners deal with them.
Oak trees of many kinds tend to have leaves with a lot of tannin, which means the leaves deteriorate very slowly, and often remain on the tree until the new leaves push them off the following spring, meaning that you may have an ongoing job to keep up with leaf removal, if that's your goal. But - if leaves are left to lie, as on a forest floor, they eventually will break down (yes, even sturdy and tenacious oak leaves) and will enrich the soil and help feed other woodland plants. Your oak tree may not be a forest tree, which is why getting it identified is important to clarify your options. It's clearly not growing in a forest now, so letting its fallen leaves remain on the ground may not be the best option.
If you're in Texas, you can expect hot, dry summers, so some of the otherwise lovely ground covers that have been suggested might not work well for you. Again, get your tree properly identified and hie yourself to a good garden center, or check with your county agent. Liriope might work well as a ground cover, but I'm not that familiar with what grows well in Texas, so ask locally.
Good luck to you, and congratulations on your new home.
Location: Went around the corner & now I'm lost!!!!
1,544 posts, read 3,599,250 times
Reputation: 1243
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gettingaway
Hi,
I am new to gardening and lawn care. The front of our house is atrocious. I have a huge oak tree with leaves and acorns everywhere. Grass does not grow in that area. I don't know if I should just cover the entire area w/ mulch or have the oak removed. I really just want a neat front yard.
Okay the website to learn more about Texas native plants is txsmartscape.com. There are many planned courses throughout the metroplex. I'll be attending the DIY drip irrigation class and the Weston Texas native plant sale this month. Wishing you the best gardening...I typically spend my weekends in my yard its so relaxing especially this time of year
LOL...I came from an apartment. First time homeowner. Yes, I am dramatic. I like everything neat. Thanks for the advice.
Gardening is rarely perfectly neat, and when it is, it's a royal pain. You look at a manicured garden, see one thing out of place, and you feel compelled to go neaten it up again. Things grow: your plants, your weeds, tree seedlings -- it all grows. You have a very lovely spot there, a prime opportunity to create a peaceful woodsy looking garden bed. So LEAVE THE TREE. Oaks are treasures. Take the advice given you here and (1) create a clean slate by removing anything that's dead or dying, (2) trimming what you decide to keep, and (3) planting some shade plants. You can even put in some pretty containers of shade loving colorful flowers for summer, but be advised, they will need to be watered almost every day.
Lastly, get used to Nature being Nature. It can be messy, but IMO, sometimes Nature's mess is more beautiful than anything we can create. In the history of landscape design, there were the French, who decided to exert control over their environment and created tightly controlled gardens. English royalty took it up, too. But country folk went with a different approach because they were poor, and that's how we got the wonderful cottage-garden concept. Let go. There is no need to control every part of your garden. And enjoy it instead!
if you go into woods and dig up native ferns any one of us on here could look up your profile and report this to the local DNR and have you arrested. BAD.... BAD idea.
Many native plants are in steep decline BECAUSE of the idiotic things people do...... as others have said leave the ferns be and learn about what plants grow well in your site.
if you go into woods and dig up native ferns any one of us on here could look up your profile and report this to the local DNR and have you arrested. BAD.... BAD idea.
Many native plants are in steep decline BECAUSE of the idiotic things people do...... as others have said leave the ferns be and learn about what plants grow well in your site.
LOL thanks for that. My neighbor actually suggested that instead of buying ferns, I go dig some up from a neighboring property. I was too shocked to say anything. Luckily there are lots of nurseries and many ferns multiply readily. There's no need to steal them.
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Some people.
