I have a small yard with a large maple tree, and I’d very much like to have some ground cover under it for my young child to play. I’ve tried all manner of sod, shade-grown grass seeds, adding topsoil, yet nothing seems to take. Do you have any suggestions on native plants I could add that would make a soft ground cover? Or should I resign myself to mulching the whole thing (about 13′ x 12′ area) or searching for porous artificial turf (an absolute last resort to cover the soil)? Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thank you!
Thank you for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners
Trees are absolutely beautiful but can be challenging. There are many varieties of Maple Trees. Norway Maple or Acer platanoides, is an invasive species that has large leaves with heavy shade while a Silver Maple or Acer saccharinum has light shade.
Our website provides information on a grass that can be grown in shade: Grass for Difficult Lawn Requirements Alternatives
Assuming your tree has medium shade there are many native ground covers that will grow around the tree: This gardening guide provides the Scientific Name, Common Name Height Bloom, Time of year, Habitat Characteristics. There are so many to choose from:
Shade Perennials and Ground Covers
My favourite is Anemone canadensis (Meadow Anemone) a perennial producing white flowers, 2 in. wide (5 cm), adorned with Blooming in mid-spring to early summer, when not in bloom its a carpet of green, it prefers wetter soils, but mine is growing under several shrubs and tree where there is little water filling out all the spaces underneath them. Anemone Canadensis
Another choice is Kinnikinnik or Arctostaphylos uva-ursi but please be aware that it preferes sandy and acidic soils. Native Ground Cover
Ferns can also be grown in shady dry locations two that come to mind are Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern) and Dryopteris filix-mas (Male fern). Please remember all newly planted perennials require frequent watering to establish growth for the first year.
Often a combination of native plants can make the area quite attractive, particularly under this challenging circumstances.
Best of luck.