The Best Wood Mulch for a Walking Path

Material

• Wood mulch can be made from any woody plant material, though some make a better mulch than others. Shredded cedar and cypress wood are two of the best mulches because they are naturally rot-resistant and don't need to be replaced as often as mulch from other woods. There are also mulches made from bark that are exceptionally attractive and long-lasting. "Gorilla hair" is made from the shredded inner bark of redwood trees and has a soft, fluffy appearance that many prefer to the rough feel of most other wood mulches. Pine bark nuggets are also long-lasting and have a uniform, fine-grained appearance lacking in most wood chips -- especially the "mini" bark nuggets that average about 1 inch in size.

Color

• Mulches from hardwood trees are generally a light tan color, which may be desirable, depending on personal taste. But many gardeners prefer a dark brown mulch because it more closely resembles the color of a forest floor and has an understated appearance that doesn't detract from the surrounding landscape. Any uniformly colored wood chip, brown or otherwise, is a dyed mulch product -- they are very attractive but lose their color slowly over time. The dyed brown mulches are universally appealing because they look so natural, but many other shades of dyed mulch are available as well. Black, red, green, gold and tan dyed mulches are options to match the color scheme of a particular landscape.

Environmentally Friendly

• Most mulches are byproducts of the forestry industry, so they are only as environmentally friendly as the logging operations where they originate. If environmental considerations are the top priority in choosing a mulch, it's not hard to find one that originates locally and is a true, recycled waste product. Tree companies will often drop off a free load of mulch for homeowners if they are doing work in the neighborhood -- the cost savings is another major benefit. The drawback of this type of mulch is that it is coarsely ground and not uniform in color, texture or size.

Synthetic Wood Mulch

• Being a biodegradable material, mulch doesn't last forever and needs to be replaced periodically. The best pathway mulch, hands-down, for longevity is a synthetic product that looks exactly like wood chips but is not made from trees. Rubber mulches -- made from recycled tires and dyed a natural looking color -- last indefinitely. They are available in the full-spectrum of earth tones and have the added environmental benefit of keeping old tires out of the landfill. Plus, rubber mulch does not harbor damaging insects like termites and garden pests.