There is a RIGHT way and a WRONG way to plant trees in your lawn. Many gardeners have them and while most experts would advise not to, there is a way you can achieve a happy medium.

The WRONG way

Many gardeners allow their lawn to grow right up to the trunk of the tree or they will cutout a small square from around the base. This is harmful to both the lawn and the tree for a few reasons;

1. If you need to mow around the tree it is very easy to ringbark young trunks with your brushcutter.
   


2. The expanse of the lawn around the base of the trunk could either destroy the lawn or the tree as roots compete for water and nutrients.
   


3. If the tree is a vast evergreen chances of lawn growing well beneath the shade canopy are very rare.
   

As you can see demonstrated in the image above, a section of lawn has been cutout to the perimeter of the tree's drip line. On smaller lawns this may look ghastly so the best option would be to create this cutout into a garden bed by raising the soil level.

The benefits of this are basically the opposite of the problems you faced doing it the WRONG way. Both lawn and tree can co-exist harmoniously and the lawn becomes easier to manage.