We all to like enjoy our time in the garden, taking in a beautiful view of neatly tended borders and crisp lawn edges. In reality, we often spend the majority of our time weeding, pruning, and digging – necessary jobs, but exhausting. Adding some wood chippings to your borders and paths could help you achieve that well-maintained garden with less effort.
The no-dig gardening method
The no-dig gardening method is a great way to gain control of any patch of earth that has been neglected. The principle involves simply cutting down weeds to ground level, and then layering a thick mulch of organic material over the soil to block out light and prevent weeds from growing. Applied correctly it will, with patience and minimal effort (literally, no digging), suppress invasive weeds and create rich, friable soil, perfect for borders and vegetable patches alike.
Save water
Wood chippings retain moisture really well. Adding a layer of wood chippings to a well-watered garden border will protect plants from becoming too dry during the hot summer months, and allows you to cut down on the frequency of watering. It is important to add the wood chippings to soil that is already damp for the best results.
Create a woodland pathway
Wood chippings make an attractive pathway through the garden, creating a peaceful, and timeless, woodland aesthetic. Bordered with bluebells, ferns and foxgloves, even the smallest garden space can mimic an enchanted forest.
Great for kids
Play parks often use wood chippings to create soft, safe underfoot areas for children around swings and slides. No more muddy wellies or grazed knees! Just remember to keep a little bit of wood chipping back to furnish those bug hotels and insect houses.
Protect your delicate plants
Apply a layer of wood chipping mulch to your garden in late autumn/early winter to protect less hardy plants like grafted hybrid tea roses or tender herbaceous perennials that die back (like agapanthus).
Suppress the weeds
Add a generous layer of wood chippings to create a truly effective weed suppressant (ideally, you will need around 3-5 inches). This can prove prohibitively expensive if you want to cover a large area, but wood chippings break down into the soil very slowly, so you should not need to reapply further layers very often.
Recycle – make your own wood chippings!
It is quite simple to make your own wood chippings at home. A proprietary wood chipper like the Lawnflite GTS 1300 will quickly and easily recycle the prunings from hedges, small trees and shrubs into a fresh mulch that can be directly applied to the earth. The Lawnflite range can effectively handle branches up to 4” in diameter, making it an efficient and effective way to recycle garden materials. So much easier than digging!
Redblade Mowers are West Lancashire’s garden experts
For expert advice and high-quality gardening tools and equipment, contact the team at Redblade Motors. Based in West Lancashire, our sales and repair service covers Ormskirk, Tarleton, Southport, Hesketh Bank, Formby, Rufford, Burscough and the surrounding areas.