Rubber Mulch For Landscaping – A Good Or Bad Idea?

That is the 12 months I’m lastly going to begin performing some landscaping on our property. I don’t suppose that that is the 12 months that I’ll make large progress in that space since I’ve another large tasks to deal with. Particularly, an excessive amount of this 12 months can be targeted on our bed room suite. However on the very least, I’d like to mark off some planting beds in sure areas and get these areas marked off, weed-free, and mulched. After which possibly I’ll purchase just a few timber and shrubs and get these planted.

My principal purpose for this 12 months within the space of landscaping can be to deal with the planting beds across the entrance and sides of the home, the planting mattress round my workshop, and the areas lining the entrance sidewalk and driveway. As I’ve talked about many occasions, landscaping just isn’t my wheelhouse. I really feel so misplaced and fully out of my component after I begin occupied with these tasks, however I’m excited to step outdoors of my consolation zone, get my arms in some filth, and provides it my finest effort.

Fortunately, I gained’t be winging it and not using a plan or imaginative and prescient. Should you’ll keep in mind, Matt purchased me a session with an area panorama designer for my birthday a few years in the past, and that designer came back with a gorgeous plan for me. That panorama plan was so fairly that I had it printed as giant as doable (a free reward from a really beneficiant reader!), and I framed it for the wall of my studio. (You can see that project here.) Once I sit at my desk, that panorama plan is immediately in entrance of me, so I get to admire it each single day.

I’m going to attempt to stick to this plan as intently as I can, however I’m positive I’ll be making some tweaks alongside the way in which. The designer did precisely what I wished and requested for, however virtually talking, my dream for our property that I shared with him might be method out of our value vary. However I’ll use this plan as my information and get as shut as I can inside our finances.

However right here’s the general view of the plan…

Like I mentioned, it’s bold. 😀 However I’m simply going to begin with child steps. And marking off some planting beds and getting these weed-free and mulched looks like a child step I can deal with this 12 months.

However whereas I used to be at House Depot and Lowe’s to see what was obtainable to cowl planting beds, I got here throughout this rubber mulch.

I’m positive I’ve heard of this earlier than, however I simply didn’t suppose something of it or log it into my reminiscence as a result of it wasn’t one thing I used to be fascinated with on the time. However since I used to be particularly searching for one thing to cowl planting beds, I used to be like, “Wait! What? Rubber mulch? That’s a factor?!“

I like so many issues about this. At first, I like that wealthy, darkish shade. It is available in a number of colours, however the darkish brown is what caught my eye. I like that it doesn’t have to get replaced every year. I like that it gained’t decompose. And I like that it’s comprised of recycled supplies which are stored out of the landfills. What I didn’t love about it’s that this specific one is chunks of rubber. Plus, I puzzled if rubber would leach one thing into the bottom that will or could possibly be dangerous to vegetation or people.

So I sort of filed that concept at the back of my thoughts and moved on. However final evening I got here again to it as a result of now that the entrance steps of my workshop are completed (you can see those here if you missed that post), I’m anxious to nail down a plan for the beds across the workshop and the strolling path from the workshop steps to the carport. Right here’s the final thought of what this space will finally appear like…

In fact, it gained’t be precisely like that. You possibly can see that within the design, the strolling path goes from the aspect of a entrance porch in entrance of the workshop to the realm between the workshop and the carport. The plan was clearly designed for a constructing that sits proper at floor degree. In actuality, the workshop sits 15 inches off of the bottom, so as an alternative of a little bit porch in entrance, I’ve steps. And as an alternative of a degree concrete space between the carport and the workshop, I’ve a ramp.

So the strolling path might want to come off of the entrance of the steps as an alternative of the aspect, and it might want to go on to the carport as an alternative of the ramp. However these are minor changes. The general plan can nonetheless take form, together with that cute little freestanding spherical deck off of the entrance left nook of the workshop.

However again to that rubber mulch. With that concept in thoughts, I searched on-line final evening to see what different manufacturers and kinds have been obtainable, and I came across this shredded rubber mulch.

Now that’s extra prefer it! That appears precisely like actual mulch, proper?! It’s so significantly better than these chunks of rubber. And sure, the upfront value is much more than common mulch, however the product description says that it maintains it’s shade for twelve years. TWELVE YEARS!! And it truly has a 12-year shade guarantee. That’s a complete lot of time saved when in comparison with having to re-mulch planting beds every year.

The corporate says it doesn’t appeal to pests or ants like wooden mulch can. (Once more, I’ve no expertise with actual mulch to know if it does or doesn’t appeal to pests, so I’m simply passing alongside what they are saying.) They declare it conserves floor moisture and may scale back water utilization as much as 30%, which sounds nice for an space like central Texas with our scorching scorching, dry summers. They are saying it doesn’t fade, rot, or compress. It doesn’t require any upkeep. And better of all, they declare it’s non-toxic and secure for people, animals, and the surroundings. The outline says it “doesn’t launch any chemical substances into the Earth throughout its lifetime.”

I can’t see a draw back for utilizing rubber mulch apart from the upfront value. However all of these different issues appear to make it price that preliminary value. Proper? And whereas it doesn’t have very many buyer opinions on the web site, the few buyer opinions are all glowing opinions with 5-star rankings. In reality, one of many opinions says that this doesn’t worsen allergy symptoms or bronchial asthma like wooden mulch can, and one other one says it seems to be and really feel like actual wooden mulch.

So, what say you about rubber mulch? Have you ever used it? Have been you happy with it? Did it final? And for those who’ve used it, what model did you utilize? I’d like to know your ideas and experiences as a result of it sounds so good that I’m able to make a purchase order. However as at all times, I wish to get opinions on these things (particularly in these areas which are so outdoors of my areas of experience and data) earlier than leaping in with each ft on one thing like this. Is rubber mulch a good suggestion? Are there any downsides that they’re not sharing? Inform me every little thing you recognize and have skilled with rubber mulch.

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and adorn the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.