Landscaping With Wood Chips or River Rock

Wood Chip Mulch

• 1

  Weed the area that you intend to mulch. Wood chip mulch is great at smothering emerging weeds but will do nothing to stop an existing problem.

• 2

  Spread a 2- to 3-inch layer of wood chip mulch. Cover the entire soil surface of your garden beds. When mulching trees, spread the mulch in a circle that extends 3 to 6 feet from the base of the tree --- the larger the tree, the larger the circle.

• 3

  Rake the mulch 2 to 3 inches away from the base of the trees or shrubs. Mulch that actually touches the base of a tree can cause bark rot or encourage insect infestation.

• 4

  Wet the wood chip mulch with spray from a garden hose. The water will help to settle the mulch in place.

• 5

  Add more mulch as needed. Over time, the mulch will decay and become incorporated into the soil. As this happens, add more mulch to keep the layer 2 to 3 inches high.

River Rock Landscape Ideas

• 6

  Mulch your garden or tree bed, as described in Section 1, with pebble-sized river rocks. Take care, however. The Cooperative Extension experts at North Carolina University advise that rock mulch is not suitable for all areas. Light-colored rocks reflect light upward and warm the area directly around the plants. When leaves and other plant debris fall into a river rock mulch bed, they can be difficult to remove.

• 7

  Place medium- to large-size river rocks around your garden or tree bed, pond or swimming pool to create a natural-looking border. When placed around a mulched bed, a river rock border doubles as a decorative accent and a barrier to help keep sliding mulch in place.

• 8

  Create a dry river bed. Place two parallel lines of river rocks in your yard. Plant flowers or ornamental grass between the parallel lines in the "river" and turfgrass outside them to create a plant river across your yard.

• 9

  Stack river rocks to create a retaining wall around your property. To increase the stability of the smooth rocks, you must secure them in place with cement. For tips on how to build a durable river rock wall, check out the Resources section.