Last spring we had a dead poplar cut down and also some general tree pruning. It was springtime so we were also working on our garden, and my thought was to ask the tree people if we could get our trees back as mulch, so that I could mulch our garden for "free." Plus I don't like the dyed mulch. I prefer natural.
They had some reason for why they couldn't give us those mulch chips, but they said they'd swing around the next day and leave us with some mulch. Well, days and weeks went on and we never got the mulch chips, but we weren't too concerned about it.. we lived without it.
The other day the tree guy came to our house and asked if we were still interested in mulch. We said yes. Well... the truck dumped a 5 foot mound of mulch in our back yard--it's about 6 feet in diameter. In short, it's a LOT of mulch.
Now that winter is almost here, what do I do with it? Can I put it in the garden now, and then plant around it in the spring? If I cover my front garden with it, will the perennials come through? I have a LOT of grape hyacinths and they're little.. I'm afraid if I put a heavy layer of mulch down now, they won't emerge.
Should I just tarp the pile over the winter and then use it in the spring?
Any other creative ideas for getting rid of it? We've already created a mulch path from the front of the house to the side.
I'm really sorry I said we'd take it!