Mulch ado about nothing

Just outside my backdoor there is a beautiful garden plot, getting ready to burst out in color.  It's going to be one of the prettiest spots in Lancaster in a month or two.  It's not mine, of course; I kill plants.  It's my neighbor's.

The view from my back door.

My neighbor happens to be an amazing gardener, and she's taught me a lot.  As with many things in life, it's wonderful to be able to trade skills and services with other people.  We belong to the same CSA, and so we can pick up vegetables for one another.  There have been years when my daughters mowed her lawn (she paid them in Beanie Babies).  Just about every year, she acts as the Easter Bunny for my kids, hiding a dozen plastic eggs in our yard.  I return the eggs to her each year; the kids use sidewalk chalk to write, "Thank you, Easter Bunny" in her driveway.

We share mulch.  This year, it was my year to buy.  [In case you haven't heard, when people tell you to put mulch on the garden, you put it AROUND the flowers, not ON TOP OF the flowers.  I know this now.  I just wanted to make sure you know it, too.]

Mulch has many uses:  It keeps the soil moist.  It discourages weeds.  That's what it does at my neighbor's home.  At my home, it entertains the children.

Oh, my boys like mulch.  They can climb on it.

They will even spread it, at least for a little while.

They become creative about transportation and tools.

Eventually, some of the mulch will go around (not on) my tomatoes and pepper plants.  And, of course, much of the mulch will go here:

  It's good to have good neighbors.  We like each other very mulch.