It’s been a while since my last post! I’ve been so busy I haven’t even had time to read other people’s blogs never mind posting on my own. But things are slowly getting back to normal.
I did finally apply mulch to the mediterranean garden.
Obviously mulch is something that really should be done shortly after a garden has been planted. But time and expense has delayed me in putting down drip irrigation on the garden so I have been holding off putting down mulch too and I just water by hand.
I decided that I am not going to bother putting down drip in the mediterranean bed as my eventual goal is to create a garden that needs very little supplemental water (and when I do need to water I can just continue to hand water). Technically this garden was doing just fine without mulch but the soil was very uneven in appearance. The mulch helps to make it look more uniform and the plants really pop against the dark color.
Gravel would be a better choice for this garden since mulch breaks down and makes the soil richer which I don’t really want. Nice gravel is quite a bit more expensive but I may switch to it in the future when the garden is more mature and the plants have filled in a bit.
Mulch here on the west coast is generally shredded fir bark. Compared to cedar mulch back on the east coast this is miserable stuff. I can’t touch it without getting tons of little splinters and even gloves don’t help. It does look nice though.
There is a part of me that is really looking forward to fall so I can make some changes to the overall design of this part of the garden but there is no sense wishing your life away. Fall will get here soon enough and when it does I’ll probably be wishing it was spring!
After gardening in Northern CA for 22 yrs, I am convinced the nicest looking mulch is the grapeseed stuff left after wine is made. It’s really dark, and the individual units–the grape seeds are small, like gravel. Still have the soil enrichment problem, but it decomposes pretty slowly. And it doesn’t seem to mold like the hulls of cocoa beans do.
Your garden looks great.
Thanks! I’ve never heard of grapeseed mulch. Is it something that is widely available or do you have to have a source at a winery?
The mulch makes everything stand out beautifully. I think the gravel would make it look natural, but you can go in that direction when you win the lottery.
Yeah I think I would have to! It is pretty pricey.
I applaud your choice to hand-water; so relaxing, you know when it needs it, and it connects you to your garden, doesn’t it?
Yeah I enjoy hand watering. Though I do want to add drip to a few areas.
I love how mulch makes the plants pop. I agree though, those splinters are seriously aggravating. Sometimes I think gloves make it worse as the slivers get trapped inside the fingers of the gloves! It’s worth it though. The garden is looking gorgeous!
OMG so true! Not only did it get inside my gloves but it got all up in my sweatshirt. I hope all the little splinters will come out of it but I had to take it off yesterday.
Reminds me of when I worked at the botanical garden and was working with Opuntias and got thousands of glochids in my sweater. I had to throw the sweater out.
Nice! nothing like a fresh layer of mulch to spruce things up
The mulches of choice here are either shredded hardwood bark, which is a by product of the lumber industry, or pine straw, which is also abundant. Rock does not work well here as we typically have a heavy debris load, especially in the fall. Unfortunately more and more tacky people are using that horrible dyed red mulch.
The died mulch is the worst!
Have you ever tried Oak Leaf Mulch? I looks nice and has the benefit of enriching the soil.
I’d love to use leaf mulch but I don’t have a source for it that I am aware of.
The LGM Co. located in S.Calif. makes the Oak Lead Mulch. I get it from my wholesale nursery.
Wow! looks great. Which yarrow is that?
Terra Cotta. By far my favorite.
I’m always surprised by how much more “together” a garden looks after getting mulched…and I think you’re right, that even coloring makes the plants stand out all the more, as there is one less thing distracting the eye. Your garden looks AMAZING…I cannot believe how good it looks already!