I have been weeding and cleaning my beds for the last few weeks and finally getting down to the next level of business - adding mulch. In the past I went for what was cheap and looked good. That was always cypress mulch. It's inexpensive and does a great job in covering the ground and helping keep weeds at bay.

Well, I got reading about how cypress trees are endangered and learned I was adding to the problem by purchasing that product. I wanted to use pine straw but couldn't find an easy source, so decided on pine bark nuggets. Pine trees are fast growing and a renewable resource. Pine bark nuggets do all the same things as cypress mulch and look good doing so. It's a little more expensive, but well worth the cost. If I don't want to spread the layers as thick as other mulchs, newspaper underneath makes a great weed deterent.

Starting this week I'll be outside as often as I can spreading those bags of nuggets. In the meantime, I'll continue doing some research to ensure I'm doing the right thing or determine if I need to rethink my mulch decision. Happy Gardening.