When working with our clients to create the ultimate landscape design for their commercial or residential property, we always convey the many benefits of mulch. Not only does it add additional visual appeal to your property, it gives your trees, shrubs, and plants a great chance at a healthy, long, and thriving life.
Mulch provides valuable nutrients
Most mulches are made of organic materials that decompose slowly over time. As they decay, they provide valuable nutrients to your soil. For example, nutrients from cedar mulch include phosphorous, potassium, sulfur, and magnesium, which are also found in fertilizers. Yes, this does mean that you will have to replace your mulch every five years or so, but your plants will show their appreciation with strong growth and resilience.
Mulch is pretty
Organic mulches include hardwood and softwood chips and bark. They can range in colour from black to red to golden brown and look lovely when matched well with your garden hues.
Inorganic mulches, which do not decompose over time, are often comprised of materials such as decorative rock, gravel, stone, and even shredded recycled rubber. If you choose an inorganic mulch, you will want to install a strong border around your garden to prevent it from escaping and ruining your lawn … or your lawn mower.
Mulch saves on water
Both inorganic and organic mulch help break up water droplets from rain or sprinklers to allow moisture to seep more slowly and effectively into your soil and prevent wasteful runoff. The shade mulch provides allows moisture to stick around for longer, as well, meaning you shouldn’t have to water as much.
Mulch regulates temperatures
Mulch stabilizes temperatures in the soil by becoming a direct layer of insulation for your plants. In the winter, mulch helps to protect roots from the freezing temperatures we see in the winter and the often-cold days we see in the spring. Mulch continues to stabilize soil temperature when the days are warming but the nights are still chilly. In the summer, mulch stops your soil from getting too hot and moisture evaporating too quickly.
Mulch keeps the unwanted out of your garden
More benefits of mulch include its ability to keep down weeds and deter pests. As mulch essentially acts as a blanket for your garden, it is a barrier against undesirable seeds being carried in from other properties. New weeds also have a hard time surviving underneath a layer of mulch long enough to break through.
Inorganic mulch choices have natural oils that act as repellant, telling unwanted pests that your property is inhospitable. Generally speaking, the stronger the smell the better job the mulch will do.
Mulch provides erosion protection
According to the WWF, the Earth has lost about half of its topsoil over the last 150 years because of erosion. Topsoil should generally reach a depth of from two to eight inches, and is where nutrients are delivered to your plants, how moisture reaches root systems, and where sunlight is able to penetrate and create warmth. Basically, topsoil is where growth happens. Mulch is great for erosion control, as it protects your topsoil from being washed or blown away.
Mulch prevents frost heaving
The freeze/thaw cycles we routinely see in Calgary throughout our winters can result in frost heaving in our gardens, which is when a layer of ice underneath the surface can cause the soil to slowly swell up. Frost heaving can break off plant roots and expose the plant’s crown, leaving both susceptible to damage from cold temperatures. Mulch prevents frost heaving by keeping soil temperatures regulated.
Contact Mirage for a beautiful property you can enjoy year-round
Mirage Landscaping is a full-service, year-round, property maintenance company. We provide extensive landscape design, lawn-care maintenance and landscape construction services to our commercial and residential clients in southeast Calgary. With three generations of experience and a seasoned, skilled crew of landscaping experts, we 100% guarantee our work. View our portfolio to see what we can do, and contact us for a free quote.