Thanks for all the ideas and precations, The more and more I think about it I don't really want to hurt the trees. They have been there much longer than I have. I just bought the place and am in the process of renovating the interior. The trees are about 40 years old so I do not want to do anything to harm their integrity. I may wait until I can do the pruning and set up the mulch rings around them. They are in my yard and not in a quote unquote orchard. There is many years of neglect that I am having to try and reverse. I am going to bring out a friend that is good with the pruning to instruct me on the what, where and why I am pruning. I liked the carpet idea as I am removing all the carpet from my house as we speak. That will be a creative way to be rid of the scrap without going to a landfill. My only question with that method is what happens when the backing of the carpet lets loose and the nylon piles start getting everywhere?? Any experience like that Denniinmi??

My feeder actually straddles the edge between a small area of grass and my perennial garden beds. I have the Wild Birds Unlimited pole system with a built-in large seed catcher tray, as well as seed catcher trays on individual feeders hanging from the poles. I also invested this winter in some better seed blends, but still had some sunflower and safflower seeds mixed in. And you know what? I'm here to tell you it still makes a giant mess. I am not sure that it really matters what you plant underneath of the feeders. I think the most important thing to remember when feeding birds is that you have to be committed to doing regular cleaning (of the feeders and the ground around them) to really make it work. Here's what I have been doing to keep it (moderately) under control. There are still sunflower hulls around, and I'm sure that a seed or two will sprout. But by using ONLY sunflower or safflower seeds (no "wild bird mix" or other blends), you minimize issues. WINTER CLEANUP: When there is snow on the ground, I go up to the site about every two weeks or so with a utility sled and simply shovel the top layer of snow (coated in seeds and hulls) into the sled, then I haul the sled to my compost pile and dump it. When there is no snow on the ground, I use the spring/summer/fall cleanup method. SPRING/SUMMER/FALL CLEANUP: Two words: Rake and Shopvac. That's it. About every two weeks or so. Good luck!

It's probably not the p@@p. Sunflower seeds have a chemical (phytotoxin) that acts as an herbicide (allelopathy). I cut a square of plywood, framed it w;/ 1x2s, cut a hole in the center, installed it on the the posts of my two post feeders. It catches most of the husks before they hit the ground and I sweep them into a bucket for disposal. Also acts as an open platform feeder for any uneaten seeds. Or you could just eliminate sunflower seeds from your mix. Not an option for me because the birds like 'em best. Good luck!

Excellent list of tolerant plants, garden gal. That's exactly what I was looking for, so thank you. I used to buy hulled sunflower seed from my local birding supply store, but it's just too dang expensive: $33 for a 20 lb. bag. I can get a 40 lb. bag of sunflower seeds with the shells still on them at Costco for $18. Guess which I've opted for? I'd rather put money in the kids' college savings account than the bird feeder.