How to decorate the base of my apple tree

[newgardener12]

Hi -

We moved into our house about 3 years ago an in our garden we have an apple tree.

At the base of the apple tree there is a circle which I think used to contain well kept earth but now is just a mish-mash of weeds and grass. I want to landscape this circle - what's the best way of doing this that looks pretty, easy to maintain and does not endanger the tree?

I was thinking of lawnmowing this area to remove the bulk of grass/weeds and then putting some landscaping fabric down on top and simply putting decorative stones on top. Not sure how sensible that is or if anyone has better ideas?

thank you!

I prefer the natural look to decorative stones myself.
I have cyclamen, heuchera and bluebells planted underneath mine, but growing out of bark. It means the birds can peck about, and they seem to keep the flying ants and caterpillars at bay so I manage to get a good crop. The bark keeps the weeds down so I do very little care at all to the area.

agree that stones would be a bit bleak. I would leave it grass and add some bulbs for more of a natural look, but a more landscaped look with a defined circle would be bark and dry shade loving plants.

I think that would look rather odd. I have muscari and crocuses under a tree in my front garden in spring. Cyclamen later on.

you could maybe clear an area and use one of these.

https://www.everedge.co.uk/product/garden-tree-rings/

then maybe plant bulbs or sow wildflower seeds. I’ve got a couple of them, though not used around a tree, they’ve been used to create beds in a gravelled area. They’ve been in almost 6 years now and are still as good as new, no rusting or damage to them.

Thanks for all the great replies!

Our kids climb the apple tree so don't think adding flowers would work.

I was thinking something along the lines of the decorative pictures in the below as inspiration. Maybe bark on the ground is better as it helps cushion any falls if the kids jump/fall from the tree!

For either decorative stones or bark, would I simply mow the area as much as possible to remove the bulk of grass/weeds and then lay decorative stones or bark on top? Or do I need landscaping fabric before putting decorative stones / bark on top? Any issues with doing this (other than I get some people may prefer the look of flowers)? I want the solution to be cost effective, easy to do, easy to maintain and also practical given our kids climb the tree!

Thanks again everyone