I like it as is also, but the strip in question eats over 5 truckloads of
mulch a year. Too much for me to put down.

I know pretty much what I have.
The stubby green bushes are Forsithia that have been pruned against
their natural habits.

There are some sickly azeleas, probably due to the lack of light from
all the trees.

A number of large burning bushes (hard to see in the picture) which grow
well
but never turn red in the fall, again due to lack of light.

There are lots of bulbs, but what the squirrels don't dig up, the deer
decimate so I'm not going to plant anymore.

Again, the idea is low maintenance. Removing all the fallen leaves is
hard enough, having to lay down 9000 sq ft of mulch is just too much.


"Tsu Dho Nimh" wrote in message
...
"Neil" wrote:


My new home has an area that is about 275ft x 30ft in front of the house
(essentially the length of the lot and about 30ft deep). It is uneven and
strewn with large bolders.

The previous owner of the house took a very costly approach. The area
has a fair amount of trees, some random shrub plantings, and is covered
from
end to end with mulch (wood chips). The previous owner told me it cost
about $2000 to put down mulch along this entire area. Well I was
fortunate
enough to finda free supply of wood chips, as long as I was willing to
spread
them myself.Five truckloads (and over a month later), and
I've finally finished "chipping" the area.

This is unmanageable as far as I'm concerned, but I'm at a loss as to
how to improve the situation.

1) Grass - preparing the land (tree removal, bolder removal, fill) is too
expensive.

Not to mention destruction of some really nice trees.

2) Ground cover - Seems that I either have to spend a fortune for an acre
of
the stuff, or wait the remainder of my life for a little bit to spread
out.

http://www.panix.com/~nradisch/yard.jpg

I like it as is, and would just spend some time identifying the
various shrubs, perhaps adding some that flowr ot have some
striking decorative feature, and planting appropriate herbaceous
perennials and self-seeding wildflowers among the trees. They
all look deciduous, so spring bulbs should do well and
naturalize.

Keep mulching as leaves fall, and enjoy the low-maintenance
strip.

Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré