We have big oak trees on a south facing slope that overlooks our pond. Currently, the following things do well: poison ivy, Virginia creeper, black cherry trees, wild blackberry, honeysuckle... really we have a jungle. The black cherry trees can't be kept, as they grow to a height that blocks are pond view. I have been planting grass seed (horrors) on areas that I have cleared - as a way to keep the poison ivy at bay.

The whole area is about 100-150 feet long and just about as wide... a huge problem for me to keep under control. I need a longer term solution that will be lower maintenance than black cherry trees and not grow very high. A plant or shrub that humans or birds can eat would be great... but it needs to be pretty aggressive to compete with the weed species we keep removing!

It is hard to tell from the picture, but the oaks are 12" to 36" wide. The pond covers about 3/4 acre. In the foreground is grass, closer to the pond a thicket of many thinkgs including the cherries, brambles, and even Chinese Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus).