Autumn weather can be unpredictable, however, one thing is guaranteed: the leaves of your deciduous trees will fall. Raking up fallen leaves keeps your yard tidy, prevents dead areas of grass and reduces places where unwelcome garden insects can nest. Bad landscaping choices beneath deciduous trees can mean extra work to clear the leaves and manage the danger of damaging the landscaping together with every pull of the rake’s tines.
Plants
The plants you remain under your trees should have the ability to withstand raking. This means deep or broad roots and tough leaves. Shallow-rooted plants can easily be pulled by a rake and delicate leaves can be torn, that will open the way for ailments to become in the plant. Once-established, ferns, like sword ferns (Polysitchum munitum), and evergreen shrubs, like winter daphne (Daphne odora) or Oregon grape (Mahonia sp.) , can be raked around and over without damage. Other good choices are perennials that die back before the leaves begin to fall, like coneflowers (Echinacea sp.) or black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta). Avoid selecting plants that bloom in the autumn, like chrysanthemums, since the raking will ruin the flowers.
Rocks
If planting deep-rooted plants beneath your tree is not possible because of the tree’s compact root system, then you are still able to add interest to the region by placing in rocks. A couple of medium-sized boulders situated with a few smaller rocks produces a natural-looking landscape under the tree. Since the rocks are heavy, they won’t be affected by raking them around them. Avoid creating a wall of rocks around your tree however. This can produce more work for yourself as you try to get behind the rocks to clean up the leaves. Instead, place a couple of classes of stones with enough room between the classes to pull a rake through. Do not pay for the entire area under the tree with river rock; in the summer the rocks retain heat and can overheat the tree’s roots.
Lighting
Lighting adds safety and interest to the garden, but can be a headache when leaves fall. Any lighting beneath deciduous trees must be wireless, like solar lights, or so the wires have to be completely underground. Exposed wires are sure to get tangled in rake tines. At the very least, this will definitely break the wire, but might cause electric shock. You also need to select lights that don’t generate heat, like LED lighting, since dry leaves can catch fire if they pile onto heat-generating incandescent lights.
Mulch
Consider wisely when selecting a mulch for a deciduous tree. Large bark chips and medium-sized bark dust might look appealing, but are easily pulled up together with the leaves as you rake. Fine bark dust remains in place better than other mulches since it doesn’t get caught up in a rake’s tines as easily. When mulching beneath a tree, keep the mulch 6 inches away from the trunk to decrease decay. The mulch ought to be spread to cover the entire area under the tree canopy. Also, keep your mulch layer 3 to 4 inches deep; mulching deeper than this suffocates the dirt and reduces the quantity of oxygen available to the tree roots.