Have you ever used rubber mulch in your landscaping? I’ve been desirous 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 large progress in that space since I’ve another large initiatives to concentrate on. Particularly, quite a lot of this yr can 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 possibly I’ll purchase just a few bushes and shrubs and get these planted.
My foremost objective for this yr within the space of landscaping can be to concentrate on 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 instances, landscaping is just not my wheelhouse. I really feel so misplaced and fully out of my ingredient after I begin desirous about these initiatives, however I’m excited to step outdoors of my consolation zone, get my palms in some dust, and provides it my greatest effort.
Fortunately, I received’t be winging it with out a plan or imaginative and prescient. In the event you’ll bear in mind, Matt purchased me a session with an area panorama designer for my birthday a few years in the past, and that designer came back with a gorgeous plan for me. That panorama plan was so fairly that I had it printed as giant as attainable (a free present from a really beneficiant reader!), and I framed it for the wall of my studio. (You can see that project 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 positive I’ll be making some tweaks alongside the best way. 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 worth vary. However I’ll use this plan as my information and get as shut as I can inside our finances.
However right here’s the general view of the plan…
Like I stated, it’s formidable. 😀 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 as if a child step I can deal with this yr.
A few weeks in the past, I used to be really attempting to determine between mulch and pea gravel, and I wished to get an concept of what kinds of mattress liners had been accessible. So I headed to Lowe’s and Dwelling Depot to see what that they had. So far as lining the sides of the beds, I haven’t been capable of cease desirous about this image ever since I noticed it a couple of yr in the past.
These faux rocks from Grandin Road (affiliate hyperlink) are so fairly, and it’s precisely the look I would like for a minimum of a few of the beds. However I additionally need to line your complete strolling path round our 1-acre property with these, and at the price of $180 for each 14 rocks, that will be ridiculously costly. That’s one purpose my mother and I need to strive our hand at making our personal fake rocks when the climate will get nicer (which I talked about here). I’ve been saving each cardboard field I can get my palms 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 Dwelling Depot and Lowe’s to see what was accessible to cowl planting beds, I got here throughout this rubber mulch.
I’m positive 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 excited about on the time. However since I used to be particularly searching for one thing to cowl planting beds, I used to be like, “Wait! What? Rubber mulch? That’s a factor?!“
I really like so many issues about this. At the start, I really like that wealthy, darkish shade. It is available in a number of colours, however the darkish brown is what caught my eye. I really like that it doesn’t have to get replaced annually. I really like that it received’t decompose. And I really like that it’s created from recycled supplies which are saved out of the landfills. What I didn’t love about it’s that this explicit one is chunks of rubber. Plus, I questioned if rubber would leach one thing into the bottom that will or may very well be dangerous to vegetation or people.
So I type of filed that concept at the back of 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 can see those here if you missed that post), 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 concept of what this space will finally appear like…
In fact, it received’t be precisely like that. You possibly can see that within the design, the strolling path goes from the facet 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 an alternative of a bit of porch in entrance, I’ve steps. And as an alternative 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 an alternative of the facet, and it might want to go on to the carport as an alternative 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 came across this shredded rubber mulch.
Now that’s extra prefer it! That appears precisely like actual mulch, proper?! It’s so significantly 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 shade for twelve years. TWELVE YEARS!! And it really has a 12-year shade guarantee. That’s a complete lot of time saved when in comparison with having to re-mulch planting beds annually.
The corporate says it doesn’t entice pests or ants like wooden mulch can. (Once more, I’ve no expertise with actual mulch to know if it does or doesn’t entice 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 atmosphere. The outline says it “doesn’t launch any chemical substances into the Earth throughout its lifetime.”
I can’t see a draw back for utilizing rubber mulch apart from the upfront value. However all of these different issues appear to make it price that preliminary worth. Proper? And whereas it doesn’t have very many buyer opinions on the web site, the few buyer opinions are all glowing opinions with 5-star scores. In truth, one of many opinions says that this doesn’t irritate allergy symptoms 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 in the event 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 at all times, I wish to get opinions on these items (particularly in these areas which are so outdoors of my areas of experience and data) earlier than leaping in with each toes on one thing like this. Is rubber mulch a good suggestion? Are there any downsides that they’re not sharing? Inform me all the things you understand and have skilled with rubber mulch.
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and embellish 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 the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
