There are plenty of reasons for spreading a layer of pebbles or wood chippings on top of the soil round the garden plants. A mulch layer is claimed to retard weeds, control the top-soil temperature, save water by reducing evaporation from the soil and stop soil erosion. All this is true in theory, but simply spreading some mulch doesn’t always produce OK results. How then is it able to be used most effectively? The employment of an inorganic material like ornamental pebbles is frequently part of an overall design, particularly in Mediterranean style gardens. They’re best employed as a ground cover, with some sculptural plants dotted inside because they make plant feeding and weed removal among other jobs, more problematical.

Let’s take then a scenario where a prostrate ground cover species is to be planted at a distance of one meter between the plants. Continue reading →