By Hjhumphreys
United Kingdom 
At the bottom of my garden are 3 large maple trees which are in my neighbours garden. The lawn at the bottom of my garden has died & also plants that I have put in. I don't want to look at bare fences, have you any suggestions as to what I can plant that won't be affected by the shade & roots of the maple trees?
18 May, 2012
You haven't said how large your garden is, but one way round this is to erect solid trellis fencing panels about 6 feet away from the neighbour's fencing/trees, create beds in front and grow plants there instead. If you leave access to the space behind, that can be used for all the garden stuff we never have room for, such as compost heap, shed, etc.
The only way you can get anything to grow with such large trees in close proximity is to make sure you don't plant any closer than 4/6 feet, and be prepared to add extra nutrients to the area and water well whenever the weather is dry, to compensate for what the trees are taking from the ground in terms of both food and water.
18 May, 2012