Hi all,

I am in Orlando, zone 9B. I'm creating a new garden that will be full-sun to about 3pm. I'm going to plant it with a pre-packaged summer flower seed mix to create a "meadow" garden. I'd like to mulch it but I don't want to suppress the tiny germinating plants or make it difficult for them to spread. I thought about peat moss but have been told it will make the soil very acidic. I've seen pine straw used as a mulch & am open to that. Does anyone have a suggestion for a light something to use as a mulch that will help keep the moisture in, weeds down & look somewhat attractive? My new garden faces the street so a neat-looking garden would be a real plus. Thanks to everyone for your help. Also, this is my 1st foray into an entire garden from seed like this. Any input would be so appreciated. Thanks so much! Sincerely, Lauree

Answer #1 · Gardenality.com's Answer · Hi Lauree - I planted a wildflower garden a couple of years ago and used a thin layer (inch or so) of pine straw as a mulch...just enough to cover the ground. I do this every year now in the late winter. The garden is absolutely full of flowers this year...lots of Echinacea (coneflowers) and daisies! I've added a few other container-grown perennial and biennial wildflower plants that don't come in the seed mixtures.

Many of the plants in flower seed mixtures are reseeders so mulch put too thick can prohibit light from reaching the seeds that were dropped the previous fall, prohibiting seed germination. Occasionally I recognize a weed or tree seedling that has sprouted in this garden and just pull them by hand. The idea is to get the desirable flowers so thick that weeds can't compete. Have definitely accomplished that in my garden!

Let us know if you need any more details or have any other questions.

Brent)

Answer #2 · Lauree Little's Answer · Thank you so much, Brent! That's exactly what I needed to know. I really appreciate your help. Now I'm off to find pine straw. :-D)