The rental house I moved to last year has a huge Canary Island Date Palm tree in the most prominent place in the front yard. The huge trunk mostly fills the picture window from the living room, and the area around the trunk, inside the drip line is huge, and I don't know what to do to make it look good. There are about 25 or 30 feet high of trunk showing beneath the fronds. It has about a 18' diameter area under the palm that needs plantings. My roses are doing well in the adjacent area, but I don't know what to do with this area under the palm.

I would like to plant roses, but I read that if I plant something that has rich moist soil and deep roots, the palm will invade the rose soil and kill it. Some plants I wouldn't mind so much but I cant bear to sacrifice the roses to that slow death. I don't even know if that's true. Conversly, I read that a Bird of Paradise would do well underneath (more shallow roots?). At first I wanted to plant with aloes and succulents, but the tree drops 10 thousand inedible dates, and they would get stuck in the leaves of the succulents. So I have tentatively decided on irises and Peruvian Lilies because they don't take much water (little water gets thru those fronds in the rainy season, and I don't want to have to be outside in the rain in the winter watering under my palm tree LOL). But I would do so for a really nice climber that would climb this ragged poorly trimmed trunk and look good year round. It usually doesn't freeze here, but the tree would protect the climber from the occasional light frost. There is some wind, up to 25 mph max on rare occasion.

I would prefer an evergreen climber with flowers. I've considered perennial Blue Dawn Flower Morning Glory (too invasive, endangers my roses, and will the wind blow it down?); trumpet creeper, Campsis tagliabuana, (too invasive, and needs side shoots trimmed every spring because flowering is at the ends of these); and purple passion flower, about which I have the same concerns as the others, also I think it is deciduous. I've bought all three of these plants and then chickened out when it comes to it. Mostly I don't want to hurt my roses or other plants. I'd like something that looks good in the winter when my roses are at there worst. I don't want to have to provide support above 10' or so , but it would look great if it climbed higher because the tree is very visible up close and from a distance.

Other plants I've considered are clematis armandii, and a climbing hydrangea, H. anomala patiolaris.

Does anyone have experience landscaping with one of these huge trunked trees? I don't want to harm the tree which is home to many birds. And I don't want it to fall on my house! The tree has a huge growth of dense fibrous rootlets bulging at the base. A man told me to just chop a hole in it and plant whatever I want in there, but I just don't know enough about it.

I'd so appreciate any advice and suggestions.