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[quote=Anonymous]We have a shaded tree box in front our DC rowhouse that is in terrible condition.  The total box (including my neighbor's portions is 8' wide (road to sidewalk) and 28' long (including a very large tree at one end). The soil is filled with rocks (which I suspect a long past owner dumped as decoration), weeds, and very hard soil.  I'd like to make the space more attractive, but not sure what to do.  I want something that can handle low light, is low maintenance, will allow reasonable access to people who parallel park on the street, and doesn't terribly mind being a pet bathroom.  I am concerned that getting anything to grow there will require significant fixes to the current soil (removing the rocky infill and replacing with new good soil), but maybe I am underestimating the resilience of plants.  Here are a few things I'm considering:

(1) Trying to get grass to grow in the tree box, but I think too difficult to accomplish and too maintenance heavy.  We have decorative grasses in our yard, but nothing that requires regular mowing, and I don't think I would keep up with it.
(2) Pick a few nice plants to grow along the center of the tree box (small evergreen flowering shrubs in the center with hostas around them?), and cover the rest in mulch to keep the weeds at bay.  I figure I would just need to dig a reasonable sized hole for each plant, but not need to address most of the bad soil in the box.  Does that sound right?
(3) Try to get ground cover that doesn't mind the terrible soil to take root and expand through the area.

Has anyone dealt with a similar space?  Any reactions or ideas?[/quote]

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