Ecomemphis

Ahhh, these days are so beautiful. Where there was dirt a few weeks ago, life bursts. Gentle, scented, breezes create dances among tree braches. Magic and inspirational growth beckons us to marvel as blooms burst forth.  Dining al fresco has become the all too short-lived norm. And we tend to wax romantic…

As we’re working in our gardens, it’s time for us to make an easy decision to help our planet, and ourselves. I’m thinking about mulch. Red, black, or brown, it’s made of trees and treated chemically. But you’ve gotta have it, right?

Right. But maybe not.

Mulch usually has to be replaced twice a year – spring and fall. Then after a few years, it all has to be shoveled off completely and a new layer started. In the meantime, anything that falls on it will probably get stuck, degrading the look.

I started by adding a professional-level weed liner and covering that with stone, replacing the mulch altogether. Not gravel, certainly not pea gravel, but small stones or pebbles. The major benefit is that the pebbles will never have to be replaced.  They also don’t float away with the rain, and don’t fly away with the wind.

I also like the neutral color of the stone. Red mulch competes visually with plants. Brown and black mulches blend visually too much with green leaves – blurring the line between ground and garden. However, the stone tends to frame the plants – defining where one ends and the next begins, in effect highlighting them. When it’s time to remove leaves this fall, this is easily achieved with the blower.

The only negative I have found when researching is that sometimes the stone can conduct heat and transfer that to garden plants, but I haven’t experience that yet.

Be sure to use the professional-grade weed liner because cheaper products do allow strong weeds to penetrate. However, with the professional grade, I haven’t seen an intruder yet.

It’s a bit more work in the beginning – this stone usually comes in 50lb bags. (However, with the aid of a garden wagon, this can be overcome as well.) It’s also a little more expensive. However, knowing that you’ve saved numerous trees by your actions today, and this decision will save untold trees in the future – not to mention the labor and money you’ll be saving – will be most rewarding.