What to Plant Where Nothing Grows
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
United States
October 24, 2015 9:54am CST
The pepper tree in front of my house makes groundcover impractical. There were small flowering plants in the dirt in front of the tree before, but not now. This tree drops leaves all year long, and pepper for about three months. When the gardening crew removed the debris, the flowers left too. I would plant more, but tree roots make that difficult.
I thought about using bark or small pebbles to cover the soil, but the leaf blowers and rakes the gardeners use would spread them all over. But when I was out buying light bulbs the other day, I saw this cute flag. I also bought a replacement flag for Christmas and one for Spring.
What would you put in the soil under a messy tree?
15 people like this
18 responses
@TheHorse (238349)
• Walnut Creek, California
25 Oct 15
@ElizabethWallace Got it. So you need something bigger that they'd know not to rake?
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
The gardeners would destroy succulents with their rakes. Succulents would look great, until the gardeners arrived.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
@TheHorse That might work, but then the pots would fill up with all that pesky pepper. 
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
25 Oct 15
@ElizabethWallace I love the fact that my nonsense caused you to search for further information.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
In case this wasn't a joke, I looked it up. It's a tree. 
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
It was too cute for me to pass up in the store. 
2 people like this
@simone10 (54180)
• Louisville, Kentucky
31 Oct 15
@ElizabethWallace You are probably right. Did you ever find anything that would grow there?
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
Sometimes giving up is the best thing to do.
3 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
24 Oct 15
aw, aint that jest cute? here'd it'd blow 'way with our winds...'ve lost several to such through the years.
messy tree? i fear i don't tinker with these much (one'f the perks'f livin' in the country with no rules fer such neatness). perhaps ya could scatter some seeds 'f flowers 'n see what takes hold? 'course, those folks cleanin' up 'fter yer pepper tree'd no doubt to damage to 'em, eh?
perhaps a visit with a local nursery might be able to help ya out based'n the location/sun 'n such? i don't blame ya fer not wishin' to add mulch that'd get strewn 'round.
3 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
Messy trees and gardeners with rakes do not mix with groundcover.
3 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40850)
• Laguna Woods, California
24 Oct 15
I LOVE your garden flag. I have one with pumpkins on it that I have in front of my house, but I like yours better. 
I have five garden flags I put by my gate ... spring, summer, fall, winter, and a US flag. I think I need to get a few more!
I have five garden flags I put by my gate ... spring, summer, fall, winter, and a US flag. I think I need to get a few more!2 people like this
@DeborahDiane (40850)
• Laguna Woods, California
25 Oct 15
@ElizabethWallace - I like having my American flag one. It is so much easier to put out on Memorial Day and July 4th than a full size flag.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
26 Oct 15
@DeborahDiane Yes, and it's lovely without being obtrusive.
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
An American flag is next on my list.
2 people like this
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
26 Oct 15
It doesn't sound like you have very much choice, with such zealous gardeners around. The flag is cute, I can't wait to see the Christmas one. Can you use something like larger rocks, rather than pebbles or mulch? The leaf blowers wouldn't be able to move them.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
26 Oct 15
Larger rocks is a good idea. I have lots of them on the property too. Thanks for the suggestion.
@allknowing (153529)
• India
26 Oct 15
@ElizabethWallace That tree debris would still have to be cleaned - atleast you will have a garden with flowers.
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
This would make sense, but I think the gardeners would hate me when they tried to clean up the tree debris.
1 person likes this
@sofssu (23660)
•
25 Oct 15
@ElizabethWallace I really need to look it up.. I haven't had the time to as yet.
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
Their trunks, bark and growth pattern make them a lovely tree, but the mess is awful.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
24 Oct 15
Yes, I thought it would scare away the trick or treaters (Just kidding. No kids in my area.)
3 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
@marlina In SoCal, areas that are pricey have fewer children around. I think people only move here once their kids are grown.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (54730)
• United States
28 Oct 15
That is a cute little flag. I would probably use pebbles or gravel of some sort.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
31 Oct 15
They would be removed by the gardeners when using their rakes. It would be too expensive to replace them over and over. But thanks for the suggestion.
@Sheilamarie78 (2586)
• Canada
28 Oct 15
That's a cute idea. I don't have any bright ideas for you.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
31 Oct 15
That's okay. I don't think there is an easy solution to this one. The bigger rock idea might work, but the roots have to be attended to first.
@boiboing (13147)
• Northampton, England
24 Oct 15
@ElizabethWallace My best ground cover plants are sedums (ones that are low to the ground), heathers and (unintentionally) ivy. I don't know if any of those might suit.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
@boiboing They would suit, except for the landscaping crew using rakes to remove debris from the tree. They rip out everything on a regular basis.
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
24 Oct 15
Southern California coast. They say we have a Mediterranean climate here, very mild most of the time.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
The gardeners would destroy the pebbles with their rakes. Pepper trees leave a huge mess of leaves and pepper.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
26 Oct 15
It is cute, and distracts from the bare dirt under the tree.
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
25 Oct 15
I use myrtle it can grow just about anywhere.
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
Many items would grow here just fine, until the tree dropped huge amounts of leaves and pepper.
@garymarsh6 (24028)
• United Kingdom
25 Oct 15
I would ask Janet Jabo her garden is fantastic!
1 person likes this
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
She probably does not have a messy tree planted in an inappropriate location.
@ElizabethWallace (12069)
• United States
25 Oct 15
It's a cute distraction from the dirt below, that's for sure.
1 person likes this
