The Best Plants to Use As “Green Mulch”
Along with a green grass lawn, the traditional suburban landscaping often includes stretches of yard—usually in front of a house—with flowers, plants, and shrubs surrounded by wood chip mulch.
Mulch performs several important functions ; it is especially important that the site remains moist even during drought and that there is nowhere for weeds to grow.
But if you’ve ever worked with certain types of wood chip mulch, you know it’s very difficult to buy (it’s heavy and messy) and toss around (it always manages to get in your eyes, even when they’re protected). ) – not to mention its terrible smell.
Fortunately, there are several different types of organic and non-organic mulch , including “green mulch.” Here’s what you need to know about this mulch alternative.
What is “green mulch”?
Green mulch, also known as “living mulch” or “plant mulch,” involves filling gaps in your garden or flower bed with other plants rather than wood shavings, rocks, or other types of traditional mulch.
Or, as Benjamin Vogt , author of The New Garden Ethic, puts it: “Green mulch uses plants to do the job of wood mulch, and it can just be lots of plants, dense layers, and compatible plant communities tightly woven together.” “.
Ecological gardening expert Larry Winer recommends using a variety of native perennials as green mulch. Not only is this visually more interesting, but it also means you are likely to have flowers that bloom at different times of the year, which both you and your local pollinators will appreciate. In addition, native plants are more likely to survive long-term and require less care than non-native plants, Winer said in a recent interview with the Berkshire Eagle .
The Best Plants to Use as Green Mulch
Green mulch will change the look of your landscape, but with so many different plant and flower options to choose from, it’s extremely individual.
To help you get started, here are a few plants that are best used as green mulch, according to Vogt and Weaner :
- White sedge (Carex albicans)
- Pink sedge (Carex rosea)
- Sprengel’s sedge (Carex sprengelii)
- Eastern forest sedge (Carex blanda)
- Fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea)
- Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis)
- Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
- Black-eyed Susanna (Rudbeckia hirta)
- Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa)
- Purple steppe clover (Dalea purpurea)
- Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
- A mixture of low-growing meadow seeds of low-growing herbs and flowers.
While technically exotic perennials such as Japanese pachysandra ( Pachysandra terminalis ) and periwinkle ( Vinca minor ) can be used as green mulch, they spread quickly and are difficult to contain. Also, as Winer points out , they often invade nearby natural areas, crowding out native flora—another reason he recommends sticking to native plants.