GARDENING SHADE FABRIC
Posted on Friday, October 17th, 2008 at 1:57 am
What type of Mulch should I use for my shade garden?
I am doing a 20′X20′ shad garden in the corner of my backyard and next to the house. I am doing plants all along the edge of this and around the tree in the middle, but a lot of it will be open to be walked on by people and my 2 dogs.
I want a mulch that will look good, be able to hold it’s place and not shuffle around with activity/rain, last a good while, and not get my dogs messy when they are on it.
Right now I am looking at shredded hardwood, but if there are better suggestions out there I would like to hear. Also, should I put a weed stopper fabric underneath it?
Shredded cedar (get the red kind) is a lovely mulch. A weed fabric will definitely keep the weeds down, but you might consider an herb-lawn in that area. There are several kinds of herbs that make excellent ground cover, do not mind light foot traffic, and are excellent for keeping down weeds. In addition they give off a welcoming scent when trod upon. I use woolly thyme in my flowerbeds, on top of the red cedar mulch, and the combination does quite well keeping down the weeds with no weed fabric needed. Oh, I have to pull the occasional dandelion or stubborn grass plant, but for the most part its a very low-maintenance ground-cover.
Garden Nursery, Greenhouse Shade Cloth