Mulching

[Dazed_Lily]

I have plantings along both sides of my driveway. I would like to put down some nice mulch and neaten the look but am not sure how to approach this 'job'. This is because I have many years worth of leaves and twigs layered there. Should I rake that cover all out(it is technically mulch though not aestetically pleasing like bought cypress or bark mulch) and apply the bought mulch. Or, just place bought on top of existing. I've done that before and some store bought mulch is mixed in the layers. The other thing is that leaves willfall in the autumn and start the layer process again. How would you approach this ?

[Tom]

I don't know what you have planted in those beds, but chances are there are fine feeder roots that have worked themselves up into the composting leaves, and would be stressed if you removed very much. I have one very large bed that gets leaves piled on it every fall, and that is all it gets. The others get pine or hardwood mulch every other year, and this is the year.

If there are new leaves that would interfere with the mulching, then you could gently remove those just prior to applying the new mulch. I personally prefer the dark pine mulch look. It also composts much faster than the cypress.

[Dazed_Lily]

Thanks. I have roses, stellas, a few lilies, a lilac and dianthus. Quite a mish-mash of plantings !