So much mulch

We are in our July heatwave, and as expected, everything is starting to turn brown pretty quickly. One of our last remaining summer garden/landscape items this year was to mulch all of our new (and not-so-new) trees, plants, and garden areas. We finally got around to it this week, which is good, because those plants really need help holding in whatever moisture we can give them.

We have to say that the garden also looks fantastic with its mulch, some of which was added for moisture retention, and some just for looks. Steve removed (aka Round-up’d) the grass between the raised beds earlier this year so that we would not be running the lawnmower over his fancy irrigation system. So that all got covered up, as did the perennial items in the garden (fruit trees, roses, asparagus, strawberries). Perfect!

My favorite heirloom lettuce seed mix, called “Rocky Mountain” from Baker’s Seeds.

Strawberries keep coming - this year they are mostly going to the birds, but I might head out there and pick what I can. First-year berries are always a little sparse.

One of my favorite herbs in the herb spiral, flowering buckwheat - the bees like it too!

Speaking of bees, they also love the roses!