Auckland’s climate may be trying to make a last-ditch effort to wring out as much heat from the sun as it possibly can, but there’s no denying the fact that it’s now technically Autumn. Thus, it’s time for us Garden Fairies to start flexing our mulching muscles!
As stated in a previous post, Autumn and Spring are the best times to mulch the garden. Why? Here’s the skinny:
- Inhibits the germination and growth of weeds
- Retains soil moisture in summer, keeps roots warm in winter
- Returns nutrients to soil as it breaks down
- Gives a garden a finished look
Yep. In Spring, mulch helps to retain soil moisture and keep roots cool through Summer. On the flipside, an Autumn application helps to provide insulation for said roots. An additional bonus for Garden Fairies is that the heat has (theoretically) dropped a little, which makes lugging tubs of mulch not quite as grueling in Autumn as it would be in Summer! 😉 (Well eh, it can still be fairly grueling when you’re staring up at a 6 metre mountain of mulch! Just not quite so much so…)
A thick layer of mulch will help to suppress weeds, making the ongoing maintenance more cost and time efficient. And of course, by keeping your garden topped with good quality, aged mulch, your garden beds will retain a nice ‘finished’ look, even with minimal plants.
Check out the before/after pics of one of our recent jobs. This was a presale tidy up. After clearing out the weeds, we applied a good thick layer of mulch upon the garden beds, and planted a nice variety of plants. We also used mulch to line the previously-weedy driveway edges, and to transform an ugly, problematic corner.
P.S. Those who came to this page via a Facebook post promising epic tales of dragons, may at this point feel slightly disillusioned, led-astray, and possibly even profoundly disappointed that we have misdirected you. We hate to disappoint our wonderful Facebook community, therefore, we’ve written you a little story. About a dragon. And, uh, a pile of mulch. Click here for bonus story.