Mulch is good for your plants and a great labor saver. It reduces evaporation, slows weed growth, improves soil quality, and makes your gardens look more attractive. And more, it’s inexpensive and easy to apply.

In most cases, a mulch backyard greatly simplifies your gardening chores. Mulch includes a variety of materials that you use to cover the bare soil in your gardens. Most often you think of it as organic materials such as wood chips, cedar bark mulch, and compost, but it also includes materials like stone and gravel. Adding a layer of mulch pays off by:

• Reducing water loss from the soil. It slows evaporation and improves water absorption when it rains or you turn on the sprinkler.
• Slowing weed growth.
• Improving soil quality. Organic types enrich the soil as they decompose.
• Protecting plant roots from hot and cold temperature extremes and sudden fluctuations.
• Adding color and texture as part of your overall garden design.

Whether you’re an ardent gardener or a casual one, you’ll have less watering, weeding, fertilizing and general maintenance.