I use pine bark almost exclusively. Does not compact or shed water water and breaks down in a couple years adding to the soil. You get a nice bonus as well with morels popping up in the beds if the mulch layer is undisturbed for a few years.

Dyed hardwood, but I like the black.

I agree on the dark colors. Everyone has a preference but reds and the lighter colors just don't do it for me.

+1. To me the red looks like something bled on the garden when first applied, and it turns a nasty pinky-gray after a while. The browns, if used, need to be dark. I only ever use black on my gardens.

Warranted, that means that on the southern face of my southwest garden, you could fry an egg in July on the mulch. On the up side, this keeps the weeds down. On the down side, the plants there need to be very heat-tolerant.

For me it depends on what it is that I am growing. For veggies I use alfalfa straw hay. I would never use a wood mulch around a foundation of a house. Do that and you are inviting termites and rodents into your home for a meal and comfort. So I am really happy to suggest wood mulches to my neighbors as it keeps the rats and termites in their yard and away from mine.

So, what WOULD you recommend as mulch close to a home's foundation?

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Fortunately, termites are not common north of the Mason-Dixon line. They really dislike freezing weather. My father, a lumberman, used to call termite treatment in eastern PA a big scam.

Rats we got, but they're not common. Mice, now those are common.

We have termites where I am in Maryland. Don't mind them doing their thing out in the woods or yard, but certainly don't want them eating my house or shed! We have rats, but I've never seen one in the neighborhood. Despite the fact that I have cats, we occasionally get a brave mouse or two that venture into the house. You would think they'd break into one of my neighbor's catless homes. Must not be very bright critters. I've always used pine bark fines, but am considering shredded hardwood in my shade garden because it's on a slope and the pine bark tends to wash down the slope in heavy rains. Not sure if shredded pine would stay in place, but I know the pine bark fines doesn't.

Michael Wise wrote:So, what WOULD you recommend as mulch close to a home's foundation?

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coming from Montana where pine is free ; I get ridiculed from friends and family because in Charlotte the most common form of mulch is Pine straw.
Old timers say "it's not if you have termites, it's when". I guess the acidity of the pine deters the bugs.

In Raleigh I had a serious problem with spiders in the pine straw, right at the foundation. I removed it one day and had wolf and jumping spiders everywhere along with two snakes. Once I cleared it and seeded fine fescue (north side of house, shade) we had a LOT less problems with spiders.

Oh, yeah - dark brown pine mulch everywhere else.

FYI - the City of Wake Forest will drop off 20 cu yds or mixed mulch for free, supplies permitting. They do the same for leaf compost in the fall. Thing is, you don't know what you will get.

I live in Wake Forest. Didn't realize they did the mulch...I knew about the leaves, but be warned...it's not composted leaves. It's fresh leaves they just sucked up. I ordered a truckload a couple of years ago and the guy shows up in the sucker truck from just doing his rounds. I decided to not have him dump it. .

I use compost from the city of Raleigh as my mulch. I like the black look of it and it not only does a great job of mulching, it improves the soil really well. Worms and other critters naturally work it into the soil.

Oh, and I absolutely loath pinestraw. Yuck

Michael Wise wrote:So, what WOULD you recommend as mulch close to a home's foundation?

A lot depends on how your is constructed. For example as a Landscaper I would say you can use a wood mulch if the following conditions are met. The mulch should be at lest 8 inches below the wood sill plate fastened to a poured concrete or cinder block foundation. In some states like Florida many communities have building codes that require knee walls of poured concrete of cinder blocks. That means the first 3 feet of your walls is concrete of cinder blocks. Second requirement is a brick or stone finish on the exterior.

Otherwise I would recommend shredded leaves, grass clipping, straw or newspaper.Here in AZ all our planting are desert tolerant and we use various rock and aggregate. Personally I have polished river stones.