Thursday, April 28, 2011

M is for Mulch

I used to hate mulch. I didn't understand why people wanted their flowerbeds to be all red or orange around colorful flowers. To me it always made the beds look fake and painted with artificial color.


Photo by Kathy Rathbun


Now that I have found the black mulch that looks more like the dirt, I am more likely to use it. I understand the benefits. It naturally decomposes and provides necessary nutrients. It helps the soil to better maintain the moisture and allows me to not have to weed quite as much. And it does just bring about a more natural and neatened look to the flowerbeds.


Photo copyright Andrea Coventry


Mulching has also been a good industry for me in the summers. No one wants to mulch their own yard, so I often get called in to weed and mulch. My favorite was the one year that I had to move a pile of mulch that was as tall as I was and probably eight feet wide. But I love the exercise that I get from it.

This year I finally started adding it to my other bigger beds. I found that last year when I was ill and couldn't get out into my yard very often that I very quickly had an overgrowth problem. I am not anticipating being ill like that again this year, but I don't want to have to deal with such a mess again. Plus it looks better. :-)

6 comments:

  1. I like the black mulch, too. Much better than the colorful stuff!

    I’m A_Z Blogging and my “X” post is right here.

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  2. What brand of mulch is that? All I seem to find here are the brown wood chips, pine straw, or that awful orangey red colored mulch.

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  3. Tracey, I found the black mulch at WalMart. I agree, it looks nicer and contrasts well with plants. Now they even have rubber mulch--yucko!

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  4. It has been one of those luxuries we have cut back on and I miss it! Nice post. Stopping by from http://kbalbify.com/2011/04/y-is-for-yesterday-atozblogging/

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  5. I used to get my black mulch at Walmart and then they seemed to only carry it sporadically. I have done well finding it at Home Depot. Some local nurseries also carry it in bulk.

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  6. I will say I hate mulch, but strictly for the smell of it. Nothing like sour manure to really clear your nostrils! We use it in our garden, but only update it every other year.

    And by we, I mean my husband.

    Ava

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