Hello all, this is my first post here. I wasn't sure if this should go in the urban section or the mulch...since it's about mulching in suburbia.
I live in New England, in the suburbs of CT, aka the Land of Lawn, and am trying in my own small way to manage our 0.4 acres in town along permaculture lines. We've only been here two years and have inherited standard suburban landscaping.
First project has been a strip of land between a holly hedge and the road. Between 5 and 7 feet deep, 25 ft long. No sidewalk, it ends in a retaining wall and then the shoulder of Main Street. It's very visible, and my husband really wants it to look "tidy" - meaning intentional and cared for. I'm less sensitive to public opinion about weeds, but I figure it's an advertising opportunity - gardens can be pretty without chemicals! It was originally very sad grass, I seeded it to an annual wildflower mix last year, and this spring planted some mostly native perennials. The wildflowers were lovely but not quite formal enough for the spot. I tried to choose plants that were hardy and drought tolerant, so once they are established we can turn off the irrigation system up there.
I left the spaces between the plants lightly mulched, both because they will all grow significantly bigger, and because I want some kind of groundcover/living mulch to grow between them. For the very front of the strip along the retaining wall I'm trying to get creeping phlox going, and plan to put in daffodils this fall.
I want the living mulch to be:
1) reasonably ornamental and decorative, so that it looks intentional
2) able to thrive near the road
3) able to thrive in full sun
4) things I could purchase and establish this season
5) ideally native to support a wide range of insect life (in order to support the birds, and everything else), but anything good for a wide range of insects/animals is fair game. The lawns in this area are so sterile!
6) less than 12" high so it doesn't block our view as we turn out of our driveway.
My concerns are:
1) the plants I think will work are nearly impossible to find except as seeds. I don't have a ton of experience raising them plants like this from seed, and I really want this plot established and declared a success so I can work on more interesting parts of the yard. I'm considering pussytoes and pearly everlasting, but could use some more ideas.
2) The creeping phlox is not establishing or spreading as well as I hoped, and one or two plants have had significant chunks broken off during weeding and mulching, so even though on paper is seems like the right plant for the spot I'm not sure.
3) This is the big one, the area was coming up all in quackgrass/crabgrass and looked like a vacant lot. (fascinating lesson in bare soil, by the way. As I was weeding it I realized it really was just holding the soil in place, and cooling it from the sun by shading it. I came remarkably close to anthropomorphizing the crabgrass - it was doing it's best!) So we put down a layer of compost for mulch topped by cedar chips - the cedar chips are to help protect the holly and boxwood bushes because all the wet weather is causing a lot of blight, and there's some local research showing this kind of mulch prevents the blight from spreading. Trying to prevent the bare soil, and it also looks very suburban tidy (which I can live with if it's temporary, it doesn't actually make me happy). I do think the thick mulch will help develop healthier soil for the plants getting established.
So now that it's covered, how can plant something that will grow through it? I'm not even sure the creeping phlox will be able to creep very effectively, since the bark mulch is in the way. How do I transition from this temporary cover mulch to a living mulch, and what plants could I try and where could I get them? I'm worried if I scrape it out of the way weeds will overwhelm whatever I'm trying to plant.
I would love success stories from similar situations, too, even if you don't have specific suggestions. I know part of the solution is patience, but it's hard to wait.
