Monkey Puzzle trees or Araucaria are stiff evergreens that thrive in well drained soil but be careful working under a mature tree as the huge spiny cones can come down without warning. Groundcovers that thrive in dry shade will make it under a large monkey puzzle. Try vinca minor, lamiums, saxifrage, huecheras, ajuga, lady's mantle, sword ferns and the golden sedum 'Angelina' and after one year you will know which of these low growers does the best and which ones you like the best. You can amend the soil with bark chips or aged manure and surround the tree with a border of boulders or landscape timbers to hold the new mulch and soil amendments in place. You will not harm the tree by adding a few inches of improved soil or soil amendments but do not pile compost or any other mulch up against the trunk of the tee. You may want to add a circle of stepping stones and then plant inbetween this walkway to make weeding and watering the new plants easy. After the first summer the groundcover plants will be established and need less water. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti