This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne explains why mulch matters in the garden, how to choose the right kind, and why proper mulching can make a big difference for your soil, plants, and trees.

Mulch is Practical, Not Decorative Mulch should support the garden, not steal the show. Its real purpose is to help control weeds, keep soil cooler, retain moisture, and gradually break down to add nutrients back into the garden.

Quality Matters When Choosing Mulch Natural mulch is a better choice than dyed bagged mulch. Dyed mulch can fade, stain, blow around, and may be made from lower-quality wood waste. Consider more natural options like composted pine, shredded bark, hemlock, wood chips, or even compost for smaller gardens.

Mulching Trees and Using Alternatives Wisely Use the "3-3-3 method" for mulching around trees: three inches deep, three feet wide, and a three-inch gap away from the trunk. Avoid creating mulch volcanoes and consider alternatives like shredded leaves and living "green mulch" groundcovers, including creeping thyme, sedums, sweet woodruff, epimedium, and wild ginger.

Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss?

Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca

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Down the Garden Path Podcast

On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low-maintenance as possible.

In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon.

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