Pansies
This is the earliest we've ever put down mulch, I think. It seems like the black mulch has been really good for the garden. My husband said he thinks the black mulch helps things grow faster, and I told him it was more likely the warm front that was stalled over our area giving us many days of T-shirt weather in April, when it's usually much cooler.
Daffodils in Black Mulch
But he pointed out the difference in blooms of the same plants in the back yard where the plain wood mulch is, compared to the front where we put black mulch down last year. I'm still not convinced. The front is south-facing, with very little shade. Sure the back slope is south-facing too, but it gets much more shade from the fencing that surrounds it.
Magnolia in Full Blooming Glory
But in the end, it doesn't really matter, because we have such a beautiful garden to enjoy, with the magnolia blooming, all kinds of early tulips, clumps of daffodils, and the later perennials all starting to sprout.
Tulips, Daffodils, and Penstemon 'Husker Red'
Here is a close up photo of a beautiful double daffodil that is blooming near the front of the garden where I hardly see it, since I never walk down that way (except on purpose to check out what's blooming).
Double Daffodil
I leave you with one of my favourite pansies that we planted in the two tall urns in front of the garage. (By the way, I know that a south-facing cast-iron urn full of pansies will be lucky to last to the end of May, but I need to keep the pansies up out of the way of rabbits and squirrels, who find them delicious; also, I plan to replace the pansies with zonal geraniums at the end of May.)
Purple Pansy
Photos belong to kbgardenblog.blogspot.com and may not be used without permission.
4 comments:
Yes, there are a lot of factors that might effect improved growth. I suppose the best you can do is compare plants in the same area with different treatments.
You are right though, those are some nice garden pictures. So what looks good and works for you is what matters.
And so the show begins!!!
I enjoyed seeing your garden in the black mulch. I almost ordered black and changed my mind. I went with dark brown. The black really sets off the colors of the flowers, although I have heard that it fades faster. Keep us posted on how it works for you.
We've been mulching for a few years and have seen all different types and qualities of mulch. Bagged mulch is more expensive than buying in bulk, but is much easier to move around (no wheelbarrow required for us) and easier to store if there is any left over.
To answer your concern, we also used black mulch last year. It fades to a dark brown, though not especially quickly that I noticed.
I suppose it depends on the quality of the mulch. We saw a mulch which was large chips of wood with an uneven black colouring applied, and it seems like that type might fade quickly. But we bought a different type which was mostly shavings with some smaller wood chips. (Another advantage to buying bags is that it allows you to see the exact mulch that you will be putting on your garden, not just a sample of what it might look like.)
But this is just OUR experience with a typical suburban garden. If I had an acre or more of land, I'm sure my story would be different.
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