Mulching

Today was a beautiful day, perfect for yard work, so I went back to the recycle place to get more mulch. We had already made four trips earlier in the month and my son and I made three trips today, but I still need more mulch.

I'm so tired of mulching already. I'm very thankful it's free, but it is time consuming and very tiring to do it this way. We put a tarp in the SUV and I take as many large containers as I can find, the ones my trees and shrubs were purchased in, large Rubbermaid containers, a trash can or two and kitty litter buckets. We fill them, load them in the car, return home and empty and spread it in the flower beds and repeat the process.

Last year we ordered three cubic yards of hardwood mulch for $67.50 from a local landscape company and had it delivered. I didn't like the mulch they used and didn't want it again. It hardened like concrete around the trees, so hard that I almost needed the pickax to remove it. I had never seen mulch harden like that did. I honestly don't think the rain could have penetrated it.

Anyway,the mulch from the recycle center was better, (cleaner), today than what we got earlier this month. If the weather holds out I hope to get a couple more loads to cover things a little better. I'd love to have the side yard near my neighbor completely mulched, the neighborhood kids keep cutting the corner and stepping over my small shrubs and grasses. Maybe mulching the whole area will give them more of a distinct boundary. I can only hope.

Free Mulch

The city of Noblesville is wonderful community to live in for so many reasons. Recently there was a book published that ranked Noblesville in the top ten best places in the U.S. to raise a family. Today I enjoyed one of the perks of living in this grand community; I visited my local recycle center and I got free hardwood mulch. I've taken advantage of this several times and love that it is offered here.

The mulch today wasn't that great because it had a lot of dirt in it along with white stuff that looked to me like perilite . It was exactly what I needed though for a particular area along the side of my backyard. This area really needed some additional dirt since it is hard clay, and I had wanted to raise the planting area a bit too. This mixture should decompose very nicely and enrich the clay soil. I just hope it isn't going to be full of weeds.

I had saved all of the large lastic containers that my trees and shrubs came in and this is what we put our mulch in, along with a plastic Rubbermaid container and a couple of large garbage cans. We made two trips and I still need a lot more mulch. This is when a truck would come in handy, but my SUV will have to do for now. A few years ago my neighbor and I rented a U-Haul truck and we filled it with mulch and split it between our homes; that was quite a job.

I moved a couple of grasses around today. I hated to disturb them because they were doing so well, but that was also why they needed to be moved. We decided they might get too big for space they were in. I actually like them better in their new spot, and I hope they will like it as well too. Speaking of grasses, they are really beautiful right now since they are in full bloom. It was windy today and I loved seeing their feathery blooms swaying in the breeze.

I can't seem to get motivated to buy new plants right now, since we are still not getting enough rainfall. Last fall I planted so many shrubs, trees and perennials and had planned to plant a few more this year as well. Maybe the mood will strike soon because I did enjoy so much being outside and working in the yard today. It was a cloudy and cool, a perfect day for laboring in the yard.

Now that I've rested and had a little snack, I'm off to get my smelly self cleaned up so I can sit with my family at the dinner table without being offensive.