I'm interested in planting Ajuga reptans 'Burgundy Glow Bugleweed' around that tree stump. Does it look like a good idea? Is that hard to maintain? FAst growing ? Thanks!! The picture shows the front of the tree stump (when people drive by thats what they see).
info on the bugleweed
http://www.perennialresource.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.plantDetail&plant_id=23
Trying to save you some troublwe here- Whatever you try there, I wouldn't spend too much money on any one thing. I think you'll have real problems with the roots. You might mulch it all, and try a little of two or three things and see what happens the first summer. I'm afraid the ajuga will just not have enough moisture. But if you can keep it looking happy,, get more thenext year.
I have vinca minor and wintercreeper around two trees.
Have you thought of decorative rock and a few drought & shade tolerant plants instead of ground cover?
Im a big fan of pachysandra, its biggest drawback is that it won't handle foot traffic. Once its established, it has a wonderful stately look to it.
I have a 12 x 20 foot section of pachysandra in my front yard, it was planted instead of grass. I put in a few geraniums in the summer to give a little color to it.
Hosta would look good there and should live.
Vines. the plant can be placed away from the trunk and allowed to grow over the barren area.
Another nice looking, tough-as-nails groundcover for under trees is Deadnettle - I've found variegated especially pretty in the shade. Dax
I don't have a picture of the deadnettle, but here is Pachysandra under a pine with hosta - it is the line in approx. the center of the pic. For them, however, I do think you will need to amend the soil with lots of organics, and will need to water regularly for them to thrive.
The deadnettle is extremely drought tolerant once established.
I have ajuga growing under trees and it does well in that amount of shade, and it doesn't spread out into the sunny parts. I also have pachysandra in a completely shady bed along the front of the house and it is blooming this year (purchased on ebay and planted last April). They are both pretty tough little ground covers and I love them. No maintenance, never outgrow their boundaries, regular watering is fine, feed once a year in the spring.
Lots of the suggestions above are good ones. You can plant a lot of things under tree stumps if you look around. I love the roots on your tree. You can really enhance them with what you plant.
Thank you EVERYONE for all your responses. I will definetly keep you posted with what we decide to do! We are waiting to get our roof re-roofed before I start the landscaping!
If the soil in that area is really poor, you might want to consider sweet woodruff. It can survive in poor soil where nothing else can. HOWEVER, if you put it in amended soil, it will get highly invasive. It is a lovely and fragrant plant when kept in its place.
Take a look at these photos & info.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/55/index.html
Pat
FYI - here's a pic of that dead nettle I mentioned above -
