As we all know, beauty, comfort, and functionality shouldn’t be narrowed down to the house we live in, but the landscape our house is set in. Managing your lawn, flowers, shrubs and trees, offering them proper care and protection is the most sensible thing to do. After all, it is the green surroundings that offer you that incommensurable peace of mind, silence, fresh air, scents and beauty you are looking for.
It is true that hiring a good landscape provider does half the job. Experts will pick the best flowers and grasses for your property and will put everything in place for a spectacular look. But we can make a contribution to our landscape’s looks, health and functionality as well. And one of the simplest methods to achieve clean, neat, fertilised and thriving landscapes is to apply seasonal layers of mulch.
What Is Mulch?
Mulch is an organic material used by gardeners, landscapists, and homeowners to boost their properties’ health, looks and development. Environmentally speaking, mulch is one of the best fertilisers out there, as it is entirely made of natural ingredients. Of course, you can also purchase different mulch varieties from reliable vendors in case you don’t want to produce mulch yourself on your property.
How Can Mulch Help Your Vegetation?
If applied properly, it can help your flowers, shrubs, and trees retain moist, especially during the hot summer months, and stay safe from weeds, pests, and human tools (lawn mowers for instance, which can accidentally chop on a tree’s bark or damage a shrub’s roots). In other words, mulch acts as an insulator against extreme (cold or hot) temperatures. It also acts as a barrier between vegetation and physical dangers (pests, rodents, wildlife, gardening tools). More importantly, it doesn’t let flowers or trees sprout too early at false signs of warm winter days.
What Does Mulch Contain?
Mulch usually represents a mix of shredded and chopped leaves, grass clippings, shredded bark, straws, paper, fine twigs, compost, and manure and so on. Some types of mulches are woodier – they are less recommended because they take a lot of time to decompose and feed the plants’ roots with all the good nutrients. The grassier, moister mulches are preferred by most landscapists and seasoned gardeners as it is faster and better absorbed by the soil. The latter does indeed decompose at faster rates, but with timely replacements, it can be your best friend against extreme weather conditions, pests, weeds, and human intervention.
How to Layer Mulch in the Garden?
The first rule of applying mulch in the garden is to achieve an even and wide layer to cover as much roots area as you can. Never create a volcano-like pile of mulch around trees or shrubs. While your perennials and all flower beds enjoy the benefits of being nourished and protected by mulch, the random piles placed against barks may lead to the death of a tree or a shrub. A collar-rotting organisms’ infestation in that bark’s area is the last thing you want for your trees or vegetation.
Keep in mind the 3-3-3 rule of applying mulch in flower beds, and around trees or bushes. You need to apply a three-inch thick layer of mulch in a round shape around each tree/shrub (to cover as much root system as you can). The last three refers to the distance of three inches you should keep between the mulch layer and the trees/shrubs barks. If you want to make sure the mulch doesn’t touch the trees, separate it with a ring of cobblestones.
As we said, mulch needs to be replaced from time to time. You can add a new layer of mulch over an older one – just make sure it doesn’t go over the three (four tops) inches height. There are plenty of myths about mulch, so make sure you do your homework right. It is your best ally in terms of temperature management, weed control, durability, aesthetics, nourishment, and moisture. Never disregard mulch and use it to its best potential!
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