Canadian Gardening: Plants that grow next to Pine Tree in sunny/part shade area, 1 by a5footsea

a5footsea wrote:
HI there,

I have many plants growing under a hemlock tree: Actea, Hardy Geranium, Leucothoe, Daylily, but I have pots closest to the trunk where the soil is a mass of roots. The beds you see in this photo (2009) were raised about 10 inches and I've noticed the tree roots are slowly coming to the surface in some places. I choose plants that don't mind a little drought, but will be raising the bed ht again soon. I have one Peony added late 2009 which is a bit further away and seems to be doing okay. The tree is definitely competing with the plants for moisture, but it rains a lot here, so I think that compensates.

I'll add a photo of the pot arrangement below the hemlock.

Another suggestion - create a low retaining wall near your fence as a moisture barrier.

cheers!