Have you ever used rubber mulch in your landscaping? I’ve been enthusiastic about it, and I’d like to know what you concentrate on it. That is the yr I’m lastly going to start out performing some landscaping on our property. I don’t suppose that that is the yr that I’ll make enormous progress in that space since I’ve another enormous initiatives to give attention to. Particularly, quite a lot of this yr might be targeted on our bed room suite. However on the very least, I’d like to mark off some planting beds in sure areas and get these areas marked off, weed-free, and mulched. After which perhaps I’ll purchase a couple of bushes and shrubs and get these planted.
My essential aim for this yr within the space of landscaping might be to give attention to the planting beds across the entrance and sides of the home, the planting mattress round my workshop, and the areas lining the entrance sidewalk and driveway. As I’ve talked about many occasions, landscaping is just not my wheelhouse. I really feel so misplaced and fully out of my ingredient once I begin enthusiastic about these initiatives, however I’m excited to step exterior of my consolation zone, get my arms in some grime, and provides it my greatest effort.
Fortunately, I received’t be winging it with no plan or imaginative and prescient. If you happen to’ll bear in mind, Matt purchased me a session with a neighborhood panorama designer for my birthday a few years in the past, and that designer got here again with a stunning plan for me. That panorama plan was so fairly that I had it printed as massive as potential (a free present from a really beneficiant reader!), and I framed it for the wall of my studio. (You possibly can see that challenge right here.) Once I sit at my desk, that panorama plan is instantly in entrance of me, so I get to admire it each single day.
I’m going to attempt to stick to this plan as intently as I can, however I’m certain I’ll be making some tweaks alongside the way in which. The designer did precisely what I wished and requested for, however virtually talking, my dream for our property that I shared with him might be approach out of our value vary. However I’ll use this plan as my information and get as shut as I can inside our price range.
However right here’s the general view of the plan…
Like I mentioned, it’s bold. 😀 However I’m simply going to start out with child steps. And marking off some planting beds and getting these weed-free and mulched looks like a child step I can deal with this yr.
A few weeks in the past, I used to be really attempting to resolve between mulch and pea gravel, and I wished to get an thought of what forms of mattress liners had been accessible. So I headed to Lowe’s and Residence Depot to see what that they had. So far as lining the sides of the beds, I haven’t been in a position to cease enthusiastic about this image ever since I noticed it a couple of yr in the past.
These fake rocks from Grandin Street (affiliate hyperlink) are so fairly, and it’s precisely the look I need for at the least among the beds. However I additionally wish to line your complete strolling path round our 1-acre property with these, and at the price of $180 for each 14 rocks, that may be ridiculously costly. That’s one purpose my mother and I wish to strive our hand at making our personal fake rocks when the climate will get nicer (which I talked about right here). I’ve been saving each cardboard field I can get my arms on since we got here up with that plan. And for my strolling path, I’ve determined to make use of crushed granite.
However whereas I used to be at Residence Depot and Lowe’s to see what was accessible to cowl planting beds, I got here throughout this rubber mulch.
I’m certain I’ve heard of this earlier than, however I simply didn’t suppose something of it or log it into my reminiscence as a result of it wasn’t one thing I used to be interested by on the time. However since I used to be particularly on the lookout for one thing to cowl planting beds, I used to be like, “Wait! What? Rubber mulch? That’s a factor?!“
I like so many issues about this. At first, I like that wealthy, darkish colour. It is available in a number of colours, however the darkish brown is what caught my eye. I like that it doesn’t have to get replaced annually. I like that it received’t decompose. And I like that it’s created from recycled supplies which are stored out of the landfills. What I didn’t love about it’s that this specific one is chunks of rubber. Plus, I questioned if rubber would leach one thing into the bottom that may or could possibly be dangerous to crops or people.
So I sort of filed that concept behind my thoughts and moved on. However final evening I got here again to it as a result of now that the entrance steps of my workshop are completed (you may see these right here when you missed that publish), I’m anxious to nail down a plan for the beds across the workshop and the strolling path from the workshop steps to the carport. Right here’s the final thought of what this space will ultimately appear like…
After all, it received’t be precisely like that. You possibly can see that within the design, the strolling path goes from the aspect of a entrance porch in entrance of the workshop to the realm between the workshop and the carport. The plan was clearly designed for a constructing that sits proper at floor stage. In actuality, the workshop sits 15 inches off of the bottom, so as a substitute of a little bit porch in entrance, I’ve steps. And as a substitute of a stage concrete space between the carport and the workshop, I’ve a ramp.
So the strolling path might want to come off of the entrance of the steps as a substitute of the aspect, and it might want to go on to the carport as a substitute of the ramp. However these are minor changes. The general plan can nonetheless take form, together with that cute little freestanding spherical deck off of the entrance left nook of the workshop.
However again to that rubber mulch. With that concept in thoughts, I searched on-line final evening to see what different manufacturers and kinds had been accessible, and I got here throughout this shredded rubber mulch.
Now that’s extra prefer it! That appears precisely like actual mulch, proper?! It’s so a lot better than these chunks of rubber. And sure, the upfront value is much more than common mulch, however the product description says that it maintains it’s colour for twelve years. TWELVE YEARS!! And it really has a 12-year colour guarantee. That’s an entire lot of time saved when in comparison with having to re-mulch planting beds annually.
The corporate says it doesn’t appeal to pests or ants like wooden mulch can. (Once more, I’ve no expertise with actual mulch to know if it does or doesn’t appeal to pests, so I’m simply passing alongside what they are saying.) They declare it conserves floor moisture and may cut back water utilization as much as 30%, which sounds nice for an space like central Texas with our scorching sizzling, dry summers. They are saying it doesn’t fade, rot, or compress. It doesn’t require any upkeep. And better of all, they declare it’s non-toxic and secure for people, animals, and the surroundings. The outline says it “doesn’t launch any chemical compounds into the Earth throughout its lifetime.”
I can’t see a draw back for utilizing rubber mulch aside from the upfront value. However all of these different issues appear to make it price that preliminary value. Proper? And whereas it doesn’t have very many buyer evaluations on the web site, the few buyer evaluations are all glowing evaluations with 5-star scores. Actually, one of many evaluations says that this doesn’t worsen allergic reactions or bronchial asthma like wooden mulch can, and one other one says it appears and really feel like actual wooden mulch.
So, what say you about rubber mulch? Have you ever used it? Have been you happy with it? Did it final? And when you’ve used it, what model did you employ? I’d like to know your ideas and experiences as a result of it sounds so good that I’m able to make a purchase order. However as all the time, I prefer to get opinions on these things (particularly in these areas which are so exterior of my areas of experience and data) earlier than leaping in with each ft on one thing like this. Is rubber mulch a good suggestion? Are there any downsides that they’re not sharing? Inform me every thing you understand and have skilled with rubber mulch.
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and enhance the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You possibly can be taught extra about me right here.
