A homeowner, excited to share the beginning of their landscaping efforts with the subreddit r/arborists, had a rude awakening when they received overwhelmingly negative feedback from the community.
The photo they shared features a sheet of thick landscaping fabric stretched over their front yard, bordering the sidewalk. Punched into the plastic are several plastic buckets, spaced closely to each other.
The OP explained, "5 gallon buckets are place holders holding the back fill for soon to come bare root trees and roses. I'll mulch after I plant."
They included a list of what they planned to install: five birch trees, one blue spruce tree, one white oak tree, and four Rose of Sharon bushes.
"Hows it look?" they asked.
People jumped in immediately with a quick answer: It did not look promising.
"There's literally so much wrong with this selection for this space," one person said.
Others identified specific issues. Firstly, the landscaping fabric was unnecessary.
"Might want to rethink the landscape fabric," one person explained. "You'll still get weeds as seeds land on top of it, and you'll be pulling pieces of it out of the ground for years once it starts deteriorating. Plus it will prevent water from reaching the roots of your trees and prevent your mulch from decomposing into the soil."
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🔘 Controlling weeds 🌿
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🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
While the OP replied, saying that they were worried about grass overgrowing the landscaped area, another commenter shared a different, more effective approach.
"You've got some options to keep grass at bay," they wrote. "One is putting cardboard down and it'll break down after the first year. I did that and it worked well."
Another key issue people had with the setup was how many trees OP planned to install, not only in close proximity to the sidewalk but just a foot or two away from each other — hardly enough space for mature trees.
"If that list of plants you provided is going in that space, it's way over planted," one person said.
Rather than trying to grow too much, someone suggested to "find a picture of something close to what you want to recreate" and model the landscape after that.
This approach can ensure that a yard thrives and creates a beneficial ecosystem for native plants and pollinators — rather than one that's full of plastic and overcrowded.
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