Tangled Branches: Cultivated
happenings in and around my zone 6b gardens in northern Virginia and in central Virginia
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Mulch Madness
So I'm out working in the yard on Tuesday, and tree guy stops by. This is how we do business. He drives by, sees me working out in the yard, stops and talks, and then we usually find some work for him to do. This time he trimmed the shrubbery in front into standard suburban form. And then I heard myself ask him if he would sell me some mulch.
"Sure, I'll bring it tomorrow morning."
He did. Then DH and I spent the rest of the day moving 7 yards (according to tree guy) of shredded wood from the driveway to where it could do some good. Actually DH didn't spend all day - just the afternoon - but he did volunteer.
We had a termite problem a couple of years ago, and I swore I'd never use shredded wood mulch again, but hand-weeding and mulching with leaves/grass clippings was just not getting the job done. This looks much better. But I noticed something yesterday - and this may be totally unrelated - my bridal-wreath spireas have no aphids on them this spring for the first time ever, and up until yesterday they had no mulch around them for 2 years or so. We always had trouble with ants in the mulch in that area, and ants & aphids have a symbiotic relationship, as do ants & termites. So no mulch, no aphids. Coincidence?
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