You love your mature tree, but find that it is difficult to garden below it. Its greedy roots suck up all the water, there is little sun below it and little soil in between its large roots, plus it sheds leaves, drowning your plants in litter. Learn about strategies to deal with these issues and find out which native plants will grow below large deciduous and evergreen trees. You can have a native garden in spite of these wonderful giants.

Frank Niccoli has been a gardener for over 50 years and is the past president of the founding chapter of the California Landscape Contractors Association. He was voted Member of the Year by his peers in 2001 and 2004. He has written the curriculum and teaches numerous classes at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills.