Earl has always liked the “mulch look” on our flowerbeds, but he isn’t one to help spread it. This year, I determined that since we’d done it his way for over ten years, I could do it my way. Which meant no mulch.
So here we are at the middle of June. My flowers are doing spectacularly, although I do have to water and weed them often. I attribute this to the fact that I’d lost so many bushes last winter and that, rather than replant right away, I’ve put containers where the old bushes were. I know containers dry out more quickly than plants imbedded in the soil.
But I will say that the weeds, which I don’t intend to nurture, are cropping up at an unusual rate. Between them and the watering issues of the potted plants, I’m spending more time on my flowers and wondering if mulch really does serve a purpose.
The man who helps me with my flowers has always said it did. “Mulch helps retain moisture and keep down weeds,” he’s told me on more than one occasion as we were spreading it for Earl’s pleasure. I guess I didn’t really believe him, since we’d always had mulch.
But I’m becoming a believer, and tomorrow my gardener friend and I are spreading eight bags of the stuff. Earl won’t help, but he’ll be happy. And I hope I don’t have to eat too much crow for dinner.
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