As part of our ongoing efforts to upgrade and improve Barcelona Building 3, our 2022 budget included funds to install mulch around the entire building and make further landscaping improvements. We began the landscape transformation in November of 2019, when the entire front courtyard was re-designed. In 2019 we installed new eden stone outcroppings to help alleviate the drainage issues and vastly improve the appearance of the courtyard. Many new trees and bushes were installed at this time. The bench was moved to a safer location to make it more accessible to residents. Further improvements were made in 2020 and 2021 with the planting of additional hydrangeas, roses and perennials.
Other areas of the property began receiving extensive upgrades once our exterior masonry project was completed at the end of 2021. This includes hydrangeas, roses and perennials at every appropriate location surrounding our building.
Our building maintenance contractor, Guadalupe, has been hard at work this past month installing the last step in our upgrading process in replacing the unsightly brown rocks around the building and planting beds with soil beneficial all-bark mulch. He installed over 50 cubic yards of mulch and topsoil around the entire building. He has also installed 110 new perennial plants.
Freshly installed daylillies and hostas surround the new 'Quickfire' hydrangea bushes that were installed last fall.
Our front courtyard always saves space for annual plants. A patriotic color blend of petunias was planted this week. Our stand-alone planters in the front and on our pool courtyard patio were also completed. They each feature a large red hibiscus that will bloom profusely all summer. We can't wait to see the area as it grows and reaches full bloom!
Mulch in the front courtyard was installed in the first week of May. The plants were just starting to come back to life after our long winter.
Look how polished the area looks now!
BENEFITS OF MULCH
It may surprise everyone how beneficial mulch is for keeping a garden bountiful. Here are the top 10 benefits of mulch:
Mulch slows down the evaporation of water from the soil, so we don’t have to water as often.
It insulates the soil, keeping it warmer in winter and cooler in summer. As a result, mulch is invaluable in the early spring and late fall, when temperatures can suddenly drop during the night. A layer of mulch over a freshly planted garden can help prevent frost damage. In the late fall, mulching around the base of plants can protect against unexpected early frosts and may let your garden survive a few more precious weeks of harvest time.
Mulch helps reduce weed growth, keeping the area cleaner and better looking the entire season. Even better, the weeds that do manage to grow are generally far easier to pull up.
Organic mulches improve the quality of your soil by adding nutrients as they decay.
Mulch keeps soil from splashing when we water. This reduces soil erosion and can help protect soilborne diseases from spreading to your plants.
Mulched plants frequently have deeper and stronger root systems than those without mulch. In addition to benefiting from more hospitable soil temperature and moisture, the plants also can grow roots into the mulch material.
Organic mulch helps promote ideal conditions for earthworms, which improve soil quality by tunneling through the earth and leaving castings to fertilize it.
Mulch improves the structure of your soil as it decays. It breaks up hard, compacted soils, so they drain better.
It provides a friendly environment for insects that the garden loves.
IT LOOKS GORGEOUS! The southern hardwood bark mulch we installed this year is the longest lasting mulch available. It resists fading and really highlights all our beautiful new plantings
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