Mulching Your Landscape – Resources in Santa Barbara

Where to get mulch for free in Santa Barbara and how to use it in the landscape

Mulch is an important part of every landscape installation. Whether it’s in the form of aggregates, recycled materials, pine needles, or traditional shredded bark, mulch serves a crucial role in mitigating the evaporation of moisture from the soil and reducing the growth of weeds. The benefits of mulch, especially in the Santa Barbara region, are plentiful, particularly as they pertain to sustainable and environmentally sensitive design. The choice to use and replenish mulch each season is aesthetically rewarding as well, creating a clean and consistent backdrop that allows our plants’ attributes to really shine.

Why mulch?

Mulching is an easy way to combat some of the biggest concerns that homeowners in Santa Barbara face. Annual dry seasons and droughts with watering restrictions mean that plants’ roots may not get the hydration they need from the soil. A good layer of mulch applied over the garden beds will protect these roots and slow the evaporation of moisture. Its ability to control weeds by blocking seed-to-soil contact, too, is important for preserving nutrients that desired plants need to thrive. And many kinds of mulch—shredded wood bark especially—break down over time, replenishing the soil with valuable nutrients as they do so.

Mulch is environmentally responsible. Typically a byproduct of other products, it is a great way to incorporate recycled materials back into a garden design. Even shredded hardwood comes from other plants—ones which likely have been removed once past their useful life—only to live again as a contributor to the health and vitality of the greater landscape.