Would I be unreasonable to cut down this tree? Diagram included.

[TigerOnTour]

I'm at my wits end with my garden. The lawn dies every winter. For the last 2 years we had the turf replaced but this is unsustainable so this year I'm trying to re seed it. I think cutting down a tree (T1 on diagram) would be very helpful in letting more light in. I would just pollard it rather than cut the whole thing down.

T1 is a 5-6m high olive tree and is always in leaf because that's what olive trees do.
T2, 3 and 4 are 3m tall Japanese maples of varying colours in the autumn. They are lovely but I feel like all 4 trees being planted at 1m intervals rather crowds the garden.
Ts5 and 6 are not a problem and the neighbours also have trees behind there so removing them wouldn't help much.

However, cutting trees down is sad for the world. Aibu to pollard T1?

Does the whole lawn die? Do you need a lawn, could you possibly replace it with membrane and ornamental gravel or chips? We've done this in the areas that won't sustain a lawn and it looks nice. You can put paving slabs on top.

Failing that, just pollard the tree and see how it goes or remove it and plant another tree somewhere else.

@JobsLot last year the whole lawn died. This year we've been more careful with reseeding in the summer and improving drainage, but it's still sick looking. I want a lawn, I have kids who want to do hand stands.

Sometimes you have to cut things down to benefit something else. A lawn is environmentally friendly so I'd keep that and remove/pollard the olive tree. If you really want to help nature then plant a self pollinating apple tree or a crab apple tree somewhere, maybe next to T6.

Perhaps pollarding might be the way to go then. We have clay soil and our lawn struggles somewhat so dh puts bags of peat or topsoil onto it and rakes it in. A good general lawn feed or Grow More helps and an iron tonic (you water it in) works wonders. Rake all the dead material out in the spring and start treatment. Our back lawn looks lovely now and is good and strong. I keep trying in the front, but haven't managed as well as dh (I'm responsible for front garden).

OP I don’t thnk removing an olive or maple will do much harm as they are not native, it’s very different to felling a 200 year old oak for example.

If you get your lawn in better condition, spiked and with more light, you can do ‘no mow May’ and encourage biodiversity that way. You will still have some trees for birds to perch in and help carbon.

Have you tried shaded seed? I have an area that was a mud pit in winter and struggled in the summer with drought. The shaded seed sorted it out. It can take the drought and shade and looks better.

trees are so so so important for nature I’d find a way to keep it, are you sure it’s not roots sucking the life not shade?
could you reseed with wildflowers or different cover for the area?

the birds and insects that use it don’t care it’s not native. They just use it for homes and food etc.

Are you sure this is an olive? It’s unusual for them to get that high, even in Greece. Are you sure it isn’t a eucalyptus, the foliage can be very similar. If you post a picture, it would be possible to identify it.

if it is eucalyptus, it will be very hungry and a bit of a thug, so cutting down or back would be fine. If it’s an olive, I think it would be sacrilege.

I would take out one of the maples and pollard the big one - agree with PP it’s probably not an olive

@Allthegoodnamesarechosen it has olives on it!

Instead of grass how about trying a clover lawn? Less temperamental than lawn

How tall us your shed? Could that be responsible for a lot of the shade?

The olive (eucalyptus??) tree in the pics.

Some great advice on here, thank you. Please can you advise me on making my lawn better. Where do I buy clover etc?

Amazon do clover seed.
You will have to avoid weed & feed type products though.
My clover lawn is fantastic. Always green, lovely flowers to attract the bees, just an occasional run over with the mower sees it’s in shape.

I second this. I’ve got a clover and Daisy mix in one section. It’s lovely

Ok, will order a clover and Daisy mix and see if that helps. If it's still awful this time text year I'll chop the bugger down.

Chopping down a tree to save a lawn is definitely not environmentally friendly. The best approach would be to ditch the lawn, add a small path if needed and put the rest into shade loving shrubs and perennials. Lawns are old school gardening, get rid.

The OP wants a lawn for her children to play on and it's entirely possible to have an environmentally friendly lawn (I have one encircled by perennial, native species meadow). I agree with PP who suggested adding clover and I'd also say don't add any chemicals to the lawn. Do 'no mow May', let the 'weeds' flourish, keep it aerated and nurture it as an outdoor space for your children - essential for their wellbeing. The local wildlife will survive the loss of an olive tree, especially if you plant a fruit tree or two in your garden. You could also explore other ways to help local wildlife eg log piles, bee hotels, bird feeding stations etc.

I have an apple tree in a pot and like to grow lots of veg in pots etc.

Any other tips on stopping the lawn from being a boggy mud bath?

Aerate then brush sand into the holes.

That does look like an olive tree rather than a eucalyptus tree! Would it be possible to crown reduce it and thin it out a bit so you get more light onto the lawn? Your maples sound as if they are planted too close together so perhaps you could move the middle one to another location or take it out altogether. That and a clover lawn might work better.

@TigerOnTour Don't pollard it, all that will do is reduce the height of the canopy, increase shade and make matters worse. It will also make it even more vigorous, thick and bushy, which is the opposite of what you need.

What you could do is something called 'crown lifting' and that entails removing all the lower branches, and leaving only the highest ones. That will help to let more light in underneath.

Which direction is north on your diagram? It is possible that the problem with the lawn in winter has nothing to do with the tree anyway, and it could be something else that might be remedied another way.

@Yamadori I included a compass in the top right corner 😄

Basically sun rises one side of the trees, goes round all day behind them and then sets on the other side of the house.

You mentioned the lawn becoming boggy and I wonder if it's getting a lot of water run-off from the patios and path? Maybe you could dig a narrow drainage ditch all around the lawn and fill it with fine gravel?

Ah - the compass doesn't show up on my screen unless you actually open the diagram.