Beginner Gardening: Help! Graduation party in just 3 weeks (pics), 0 by dala162

dala162 wrote:
Hi, My son's graduation party is scheduled to be on our patio in just 3 weeks. He and my father just laid in a 21' x 14' patio with red/black 16" sq. pavers.
I have an area approx. 8' by 14' adjacent to the patio that was dug (by my son) but I didn't think I could afford the cost. I would like to do some sort of planting, mulch, etc. We could mound it up a bit? It gets alot of sun but some shade from an adjacent tree.
The other problem that I have no idea what to do with is a very old, large tree that will likely need to come out in the next few years. There has been some sort of ground cover underneath. I tried cleaning it up and ended up removing over half of it.
If anyone has any ideas I would greatly appreciate. The patio is beautiful but what do I do around it?

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/dala162/Patio?f