Newbie alert....

Being quite happy with my garden's little show of spring bulbs and with
my pruned bushes actually coming nicely back to life, I'm thinking about
my next move.

I've read in a number of places that mulching the various flower beds
and shrubs is a great thing -- better looking than bare soil, weed
control, moisture retention, etc. So I was preparing to order some bark
when I decided to look around at the gardens in my neighborhood in
Durham and I noticed that hardly any of them are mulched.

Am I missing something? What are the downsides? Why don't others do
it? Maybe I should use this as a way to meet my neighbors?

confused,
Rob

"Rob Barrett" wrote in message
...
Newbie alert....

Being quite happy with my garden's little show of spring bulbs and with my
pruned bushes actually coming nicely back to life, I'm thinking about my
next move.

I've read in a number of places that mulching the various flower beds and
shrubs is a great thing -- better looking than bare soil, weed control,
moisture retention, etc. So I was preparing to order some bark when I
decided to look around at the gardens in my neighborhood in Durham and I
noticed that hardly any of them are mulched.

Am I missing something? What are the downsides? Why don't others do it?
Maybe I should use this as a way to meet my neighbors?

confused,
Rob

Rob,

I know nothing about gardening.

But, we recently (last summer) moved house. At the front was a hump patch
between the drive and the road (quite big, 1 1/2 car lengths, one car width)
of bark, with a good scattering of weeds and lots of cat poo.

we spent hours raking it all off, bagging it up and taking it to the tip. We
grass seeded it, it is now green and the mowing keeps the weed away. We also
planted lots of bulbs. It's now colourful and green at the same time.

Not much help, I am sure there are better examples of how bark works really
well.

Ian

"Rob Barrett" wrote in message
...
Newbie alert....

Being quite happy with my garden's little show of spring bulbs and with
my pruned bushes actually coming nicely back to life, I'm thinking about
my next move.

I've read in a number of places that mulching the various flower beds
and shrubs is a great thing -- better looking than bare soil, weed
control, moisture retention, etc. So I was preparing to order some bark
when I decided to look around at the gardens in my neighborhood in
Durham and I noticed that hardly any of them are mulched.

Am I missing something? What are the downsides? Why don't others do
it? Maybe I should use this as a way to meet my neighbors?

confused,
Rob

To work well what ever you mulch with needs to be kept on the garden beds
(blackbirds will attempt to flick it all off) so some sort of raised edges
are useful.
We only weed in February before topping up the mulch (although we use garden
shreddings the principle is the same) so the advantages are great.
On the down side is the expense if you have to buy in the mulch, worth it if
you don't like weeding!
detractors will tell you it will become a cat toilet, but cats will used
turned soil and since if its working you don't have to go anywhere near it,
it doesn't really matter!

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)

Ian wrote:
"Rob Barrett" wrote in message
...
Newbie alert....

Being quite happy with my garden's little show of spring bulbs and
with my pruned bushes actually coming nicely back to life, I'm
thinking about my next move.

I've read in a number of places that mulching the various flower
beds and shrubs is a great thing -- better looking than bare soil,
weed control, moisture retention, etc. So I was preparing to order
some bark when I decided to look around at the gardens in my
neighborhood in Durham and I noticed that hardly any of them are
mulched. Am I missing something? What are the downsides? Why don't
others
do it? Maybe I should use this as a way to meet my neighbors?

confused,
Rob

Rob,

I know nothing about gardening.

But, we recently (last summer) moved house. At the front was a hump
patch between the drive and the road (quite big, 1 1/2 car lengths,
one car width) of bark, with a good scattering of weeds and lots of
cat poo.
we spent hours raking it all off, bagging it up and taking it to the
tip. We grass seeded it, it is now green and the mowing keeps the
weed away. We also planted lots of bulbs. It's now colourful and
green at the same time.
Not much help, I am sure there are better examples of how bark works
really well.

Ian

I used to bark mulch,but it rots slowly, and needs replacing. Good for the
soil I suppose, but a pain. I now use slate chippings. Looks nice, keeps the
soil moist, and doesn't grow algie like some agregate.
--
ßôyþëtë