Landscaping with Mulch

Landscape mulch can greatly help enhance the landscaping around the house as well as the curb appeal of your house.  Primarily this is done with the ability to develop shapes and areas around the house can both smooth the view of your property and help direct you eye to selected accent areas or plants.

Landscape design with mulch

Mulch can be used to create a controlled pallet that frames other features with in the landscaping. The ability to create open weed free services shaped to provide a look is often the goal in designing a great looking landscape.  Either to focus on and area or to cover what may be difficult areas. Creating strategically placed features and shapes with mulched beds can help draw your eye to the plantings, features or walls or trees they may surround. Or plantings that draw the eye to themselves.

It is know that the human eye has a very strong affinity for circular forms. Most of us are able to visually find the center of a circle, and we naturally expect to find something interesting there. This is why often-mulched bedding areas are often curved or some part of a circle to direct the eye in specific direction.

Focal points in the landscape can be naturally occurring or strategically placed features or plantings that draw the eye to them. This gives the design of the garden a more dramatic, orderly look. All gardens need at least one focal point. A small garden may need only one, while larger gardens may need several that help move the eye from point to point. A flowing bead boarded by a couple feet of mulch enhances the affect. The human eye has a very strong connection with circular forms. Most of us are able to visually find the center of a circle, and we naturally expect to find something interesting there.

In garden design, curved paths and beds are created by using circles, arcs, or circle segments. Our minds naturally recognize these as being a part of a full circle whether they're complete or not. So the deepest point of an inside curve, which is the relevant center of its surroundings, is a natural place for focal points that can be made to stand out with an appropriate mulch to accent it.

Simplicity

Simplicity is actually one of the principles in design and art.  One recommendation if you are just starting out with a landscape plan would be to just keep things simple to begin with. You can do more later.

Simplicity in planting, for instance, would be to pick two or three colors and repeat them throughout the garden or landscape. Keeping decor to a minimum and within a specific theme as well as keeping the color of the mulch one that fits well with the planting or possibly boulders that are consistent is also practicing simplicity. 

Balance

Symmetrical balance is where there are more or less equally spaced matching elements of the garden design. With a garden equally divided, both sides could share all or part of the same shape, form, plant height, plant groupings, colors, bed shapes, theme, etc.

In your design plans consider color, texture, and type of mulch so that it can help set the tone here too and provide a neat low maintenance area. 

Think about scale. Small areas can look more extensive when small size gravel is used. With large open areas you may want to use a very coarse bark mulch or larger stone gravel to show more interesting texture from a distance. But the scale of plants, rocks, and other features also play a part.

Landscape mulch is a great way to make the yard look finished.

For unusual landscape accents with special or hard to find materials contact us. Having studied the industry we know a number or resources for unique products. To figure what you need know that you have designed the project check our mulch calculator