Putting mulch on bare ground?

Question

What's the technique on planting or putting stuff on the ground that's totally bare?

Next to our sidewalk.. there is a 3 inch gap consisting of just hard dirt and then next to it is grass...

I was making plans to maybe plant wild countryside flowers in the long gap, but my husband went ahead and bought red mulch and covered it up.. I was furious...

How would you go about this?? Was mulch meant to go in the bare areas.. or maybe grass seeds or flowers??

Answer 1

You could pull the mulch back, but planting in a 3" wide strip would really be almost impossible. The heat from the cement would be a problem, and with the grass being right there, how would you mow without harming the flowers? You would really need to widen the strip to at least 18", and plant upright growers that won't flop over the grass or the sidewalk.

Mulch on bare ground is fine. It will keep the area from getting muddy. But grass loves mulch! It will happily grow right into what your husband put down and, with enough water, will eliminate the strip completely all by itself by the end of summer.

Answer 2

ha...what'd I'd do is move back the mulch, dig up the dirt, add a little plant food and potting soil then I'd sink my purple or blue flowers plants in it and recover it with the mulch and water it well. He did you a favor...it's merely that it was a tad backwards.

Answer 3

Nothing wrong with it, just remember to leave a space between the plantings to push the lawnmower so that you can get to the other side without having to go around.