On Sat, 09 Jun 2007 02:20:24 -0700, gardens.rec wrote:
My wife is on my case to get MORE LONG LASTING COLOR underneath our 60
foot tall maple tree. I have success on the street side of it that

Silk flowers or paint. Seriously. Your maple casts heavy shade,
which definitely makes the choice of species that will grow there
into a very small universe. Added to that, maples are very good at
grabbing all the soil moisture possible, so you've got intense competition
for water. Sounds like you've got a little more light on the street
side.

Best choice for color is probably a shade annual like impatiens, in
pots being rotated in and out as they go out of bloom from low light.
Or fancy-leaved plants like caladium or coleus, ditto.

I'd suggest building a bench around the tree, possibly painting the
bench white. Put the pots on the bench, and have a combination
of sit spot and pot staging. White also will give you maximum
reflectance to the leaves.

Kay