It’s time to take a moment and thank the pine trees for giving up their excess for the betterment of our yards and gardens. Pine straw is one of the most popular ground covers for garden areas, trees, and shrubs. Laying out pine straw (and other mulches) for our customers is also one of our primary landscaping duties in pre- and early spring, as evidenced by these photos of various properties on which we are spreading the virtues of pine straw.
The benefits of pine straw are many, but its cost consciousness is a definite strong point. It is easily distributed around your yard, much more so than organic soils which usually require wheelbarrows, shovels, and a goodly amount of labor to cover any significant areas. Further lowering your annual cost, pine straw generally maintains its effectiveness longer: it tends to ‘hold its area’ better and does not compost down as fast as the soil mulches will.
But ‘cost conscious’ does not mean ineffective. Pine straw is quite good at all those things a mulch is supposed to do, e.g. keep your plants cool in the summer and warm in the winter, slow weed intrusion, retain moisture, and add nutrients to your soil.
But that is not to say that other mulches don’t have their benefits. Organic soils, bark and wood chips, dye mulch in various colors, pebbles and rocks, all of these work well in your gardens, as do inorganic synthetics like glass. And each has their own particular charms depending on the specific needs of your landscape, and Ben’s Creek Nursery can help you determine which would be the best fit for you.
