Wife and I were talking about the issue with trying to get the grass to grow well in front of the oak tree mostly due to the oak itself and steep slope. One alternative option would be to do a retaining wall with backfill, mulch, then plant shrubs, blueberry bushes, etc. We had a landscaper come out last summer to discuss. Other than the high cost ($4k+) the challenge in doing it is setting the first layer of rocks or masonry blocks in the ground. The granite is only ~4" below the grass surface so not sure this is enough to create a strong foundation. The other issue is the amount of backfill required to essentially create a level ground from about the oak tree to the driveway. I've not measured the height difference, but it's got to be at least 4'.
My least expensive option is to buy more metal edging and create a barrier from the oak tree down around and back up. Then kill the grass, dig out and replace with topsoil, mulch then the bushes. However, the slope will remain and my concern will be runoff and possibly poor shrub growth due to little water retention. Any other thoughts on this? Thanks.