Georgia Pine straw

The Saint says I have an Obsession with Pine straw. I don't believe I have an obsession at all. I just like the look of fresh pine straw used as a mulch.

We have many pine trees in our yard so the look of the straw within the landscaping fits perfect.

A good base of straw also is an asset in weed control.

I don't use fertilizer much and would rather the nutrients in the pine straw do the work for me so that would be several reasons as to why I spread so much pine straw each year.

Here is a load (27 bales) I picked up this spring that I spread around in my gardens.

I spread pine straw throughout in Islands, Planters, The Flower Garden, under bushes & trees and around the patio area. I have spread about 75 bales this spring.



You never know what condition of straw you will find as some people will allow twigs and pine cones to be picked up in the bales. I have recently found a pretty good place to purchase the stuff that is really clean. The primo stuff is the Red Long Leaf but hard to come by not to mention pricey. I paid $3.85 per bale for short needle and it is sort of dry, meaning I will have to top it with additional straw because it will break down before summers end.

The process I use around trees or bushes is as follows...

I take a flat shovel and dig out the grass around each tree or bush to form a perfect circle. When possible, I use the old sod elsewhere in the yard. This day, I was working around the Forsythia bush.

I often step back to see if the circle is even and large enough.

Once I have the circle exactly how I want it, then I am ready to spread the pine straw.

FORSYTHIA

I spread the straw fairly thick to keep sunlight from penetrating to allow weeds to sprout...

Here is the final look of the freshly mulched Forsythia...

I really do like the clean look of the pine straw and think it adds to the natural look of our woods with many pine trees...

Here are some additional pictures of places where I have spread pine straw.

PATIO AREA

We had a real problem with drainage in this area of the backyard. This area is a natural run-off for rainfalls. We tried grass to no avail so I came up with a natural look of pine straw instead. It works great and stays in place after a good rain fall.

BUTTERFLY BUSH ISLAND





I will post on this island in the future. It is interesting how it evolved for us.








DRIVEWAY ISLAND



This island breaks up the large paved driveway for us. This island was in place when we bought the house.

The Saint wanted to remove the island and pave over it but after the words divorce were brought up, he backed off of that one. Not really just kidding, I would never divorce my Saint over asphalt but he got the point of how mad I would be. Now he too enjoys the island even though it is a bit of a challenge for him to back the boat into the shed with the island in the way!




FRONT PLANTER

We have two large planters in front of the house and they are both filled with pine straw as a mulch as well.


The pine straw keeps the Japanese Maple trees, Camellia and Nandina bushes cool in the summer and warm during the winter.


FLOWER GARDEN
The Flower Garden gets its share of pine straw also. I usually try to plant things which like the acid from pine needles but this year I added some new plants and did not research to see if they would like the nutrient from the pine straw. I may end up loosing some plants due to my lack of research. But if I loose any plants, that will make room for more next year!



CREPE MYRTLE
Here is one of the many Crepe Myrtle trees that we keep pine straw under. I also keep the straw under all the bushes and trees that are in the grassy portions of the yard. The trees in the woods provide their own mulch each fall by dropping tons of leaves and pine straw.

It is a shame I cannot use the pine straw in our woods but I prefer it stay there as a natural look plus leaves get mixed in with the pine needles and I don't like that look in my landscaped areas. Looks fine in the woods and county right of way though.

I do Spread a lot of pine straw but now that you have seen the look of things, don't you think it is worth it? I know I enjoy the look of it and it last all summer long and gets a fresh thin coat for winter.

If you build up too much, it will mold really badly and can cause disease to the trees and plants. I remove the old straw every other year to keep the mold away.



I usually take the old straw up to the county right of way and spread it around to keep a natural look on the roadside.

This picture was snapped one spring when the azaleas were in bloom up on the street.



Now that you have seen my pine straw mulching, what do you think? Do I have an obsession with spreading Georgia Pine straw, In the Garden?