Landscaping Materials: Mulching, Seeding, and Decorative Gravel
Posted on: 23 April 2020
If you're looking to spruce up your yard this spring, your local landscaping materials company likely has everything you'll need to get the job done. From mulching to seeding to decorative gravel, here are some landscaping ideas you can use to transform your yard.
Mulch
Making your yard look better is only half the battle; your landscape design needs to be manageable and cost-effective, too. Fortunately, mulch can provide both aesthetic accents and sustainability to your landscaping.
- Piling: when looking to protect rich topsoil or compost, look for lighter and more voluminous mulch varieties. Straw, hay, wood chips, and shredded newspaper are ideal for piling mulch applications. In addition to providing great topsoil and compost protection, these varieties of mulch are often very cost-effective.
- Mounds: one trick you can use to add depth and contrast to your landscape design are mulch mounds. These mounds normally look like mini volcanoes, which provides an opening to each mound's center for small trees, bushes, or flowers. Because you'll want these mulch mounds to be sturdy, it helps to use more dense varieties of mulch. Crusher dust and pulverized rubber are ideal for building sturdy mulch mounds that will withstand the weather and watering.
Seeding
The plants you utilize in your landscaping should function like a symphony; every plant working in unison to provide shade, water capturing, drainage, and nutrients for the plants around them.
- Go Native: your landscape supply company can show you varieties of native plants that can harmonize your design. For instance, your landscaping supply company can help you find native varieties of grass seeds and flower seeds that compliment each other. You can further adjust your seed selection based on your yard's sun exposure, soil composition, slope, and watering needs.
Decorative Gravel
Like mulch, decorative gravel can provide both soil protection and drainage management. However, decorative gravel can also be used to make walkways and borders.
- Creating Lasting Lines: incorporating borders and walkways into your landscaping design can provide both form and functionality. The key to choosing the right decorative gravel is to consider the density and size of the gravel you choose. For instance, if you're creating a long border for a flower bed, you need to be mindful of drainage and the cost of using an excessive amount of gravel. Larger chunk stone varieties are perfect for this application. For walkways, you want gravel that's dense enough to stay put, but small enough to be comfortable to walk on. Pea and fill gravel will likely be your best options.