If you can’t bear the thought of planting new flower beds or another round of weeding the garden, turn to mulch and stone as an alternative. These natural alternatives beautify your garden or landscape and benefit its health.
Mulch and Stone Benefits
Perhaps you think only plantings can bring new life to your yard, but mulch and stone can do the same. The benefits of these choices include:
* lending a variety of colors to the landscape,
* providing various complimentary sizes and shapes,
* improving drainage and appropriately channeling runoff water,
* creating an activity space,
* reducing yard maintenance.
Using landscape stone also lowers your costs since it doesn’t need annual replacement.
Creating Mood with Stone and Rock
Just as plants let you add mood to a yard through size and color, so do rocks and stones, like those available through Melvin Mulch. You can surround existing plantings or create a xeriscape, a water-conserving landscape that requires no watering or weeding. Here are some ideas:
* Add warmth using smooth earth-toned beach stones.
* Add brightness to a shaded area using white marble pebbles or chips.
* Evoke a tropical mood by using black lava rocks.
* Evoke a southwest feel by using terra cotta stones.
* Evoke a more traditional garden feel using a rock garden of various stone sizes and colors.
* Create yard art using a single, large boulder.
Creating Living Space
Forget hedges you must clip and trim or picnic tables that warp and weather. You can use rock and stone instead. Use large boulders to edge the yard, instead of hedges. They also work great as pond borders with the added benefit of hiding pond liners or mechanical equipment for fountains.
Rocks and stones also let you create paths that beautify the yard, as well as, direct foot traffic flow. A stone pathway lets you cover unsightly areas where foot traffic has killed grass. Path construction means filling in depressions and holes so, you’ll make your yard more accessible and safer.
Create an outdoor living space using stones. Use a large table rock surrounded by four medium-sized rectangular stones in lieu of a picnic table with benches. Cover a large area with small, colorful pebbles or crushed white stone to delineate a play area or the main yard.
Although rock may cost more than mulch at the outset, it provides perennial enjoyment and as much versatility as plants. In the long run of landscaping and yard maintenance, this means it costs less. It also benefits your yard’s health. A healthy yard adds curb appeal, and that adds cash in your pocket when you eventually sell your home.
The garden and landscape mulch experts at Melvin Mulch can answer your questions as to which type of mulch is best for your needs. Give us a call at 414-856-9077 to find out more about the natural alternatives that are available.