First if it was my space I think that patio are would make a really cute cottagy sitting area. Right in front of and under the window I would put a white rattan/wicker sofa or loveseat with some pretty floral cushions. In the corner if their is room a rattan/wicker chair or maybe even a rocker. Don't forget a little table somewhere like a side table with a cute little lamp and a place to set some nice cold sweet tea (well in the south anyway). A nice outdoor braided rug and a plant or two to finish it off. Oh ya throw in some candles for sitting out in the evening!! Next I would make a cute little path (ie brick, somesort of stone) from the back door that curves around to meet the front of the patio somewhere and even the steps to the deck. Ok so basically the walkway will come out from the door, patio, and deck steps and all be connected which you could then have sort of branch out to the yard. Hopefully you get the idea. Anyway in between the spaces of the walkway that would come out from each entry plant with plants like you have already started like the Astillbe, forget-me-nots,columbines, daylilys and oh you must have Lily-of-the-valley! The smell near a patio is heaven. Also how about bleeding hearts? You could plant a hydrangea or two. I think shrubs in front of the deck would look really nice or put a trellis of some sort going up the end of the patio where the patio meets the deck and have some sort of vine going up it. I have also seen people use like a matchstick shade type deal that could be rolled up or down for more privacy. Flowerboxes on the deck would be very pretty too. I did that at my old house and it an instant way to dress up a deck (got them from wally world). Eventually curve your garden beds around the perimeter oh the yard. Well hopes this helps a little. Very cute space to work with! Meghan

if the goo is labeled for this as a proper use.. knock yourself out ... dont take any guilt trip over such ... IMHO .. a few inches of dirt is NOT going to kill nor harm this tree ... crikey.. 95% of its roots are probably way beyond the spot you are working .. but that said.. ITS A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY ... to buy the dirt ... as i swear.. within minutes.. the maple will have grown feeder roots into it.. to re-establish its dominance... you are not going to fool this bat turd with a little paper or card board ... if you want to TRY ... just dig out small holes.. in native soil .. bare root your plants.. insert.. and water the devil out of them until they have a chance to compete with the monster ... ALWAYS broadcast water.. and NEVER fert just the babe ... else guess where the tree will grow new feeder roots .. which will choke out your plants ... the idea is that you are trying to fool the tree.. into not knowing you are trying to plant other stuff under it ... and with the experience of growing 1650 hosts under trees ... i kinda have some experience with such ... since i have the generic RU ... i would spray now... wait a few weeks.. to see what i missed ... [mostly because the grass isnt even greening yet in MI] ... then respray.. and just cover with 3 or 4 inches of good bark chunks ... the extra inch.. so that when it settles .. i will have the requisite 2 to 3 ... you can.. immediately.. plant in the dead grass .. [do try not to walk thru your killer.. get your shoes all wet with such.. and then walk across lawn you want to keep.. been there done that ... and with a garden tractor .. weeks later.. wondering what the heck all those lines in the lawn were.. lol] and anything that pokes thru i would spot spray with a windex type hand spraying during the growing season ... again .. the added soil.. is a waste of time and money.. and will only stimulate the tree to attacking whatever you plant in it ... ken

I can't find lemon trees specifically listed as major players as far as allelopathy is concerned, so at least temporarily I'm going to table that. Almost all trees feature some level of effect, however. (If you'd been continental and told me that was a black walnut, for instance, we would have solved the problem in one go). Trees are famous for sucking up water, so check the soil underneath it to see if it's dry as compared to the rest of the lawn. Realizing that Hawai'i has some water issues at the moment, you may not be able to or wish to water. That's OK, we're just trying to nail down the issue. Combine water stress with lower light under a tree and that may be the solution. In that case, mulching under the tree might be the best idea, or use an approved ground cover that tolerates lower light and lower water levels. Traffic there doesn't concern me too much, one or two children at full tilt should be entirely tolerable. They're fine even on KBG, which isn't exactly what I'd describe as happy with traffic. Grasses don't generally spread if not fed, so I'd follow the recommended feeding schedule for your locale. If you can't find it, I'll do the research--but don't know or have a feel for it in that area since you're technically sub-tropical. Which means I won't technically know if the recommendations are the best for that grass (you'd be shocked how many articles and schedules recommend terrible feeding times up here). However, I should think that feeding is better than not in that climate, and seasonal temperature variance isn't that much. So I'd say a gentle feeding would be a good idea. You could get a soil test through Logan Labs (in Ohio), which would nail down any soil problems you have. But I'd investigate other avenues first as the rest of your lawn looks pretty good--and you did have grass under there previously.

I'm fine with the manual labor, just trying to save the embarrassment if I hack away for hours just to see it retaliate with force this summer. lol My neighbor has some hedge trimmers and a chainsaw he said I could use. I might see if he has any ideas for tackling it... And I totally agree about the understanding of plant maturity prior to planting. The blueberry bush I planted yesterday has 4 feet of space on both sides, and room to grow 8 feet+ tall. My wife said it looks "empty" right now and wanted to fill in the gaps with more iris, but I told her how big the blueberry bush is supposed to get and that the iris rhizome would just take off in a few years. It would be a mess to deal with later. It definitely looks "empty" for now, but that's what a good mulch job is for! It looks clean, and neat. In a few seasons we should have some decent fill in there.