WHAT A DIFFERENCE SOME MULCH MAKES—TO OUR GARDEN … AND MARRIAGE?

[This is the fourth installment of a diary by Greater Long Beach photographer Jeanine Birong, who with her husband, Mark, and children, Anthony and Sarah, is replacing their traditional grass lawn with drought-tolerant plants as part of the water-saving Lawn to Garden Project, sponsored by the Long Beach Water Department. This week: Mulch!]

 After the original burst of activity on our lawn installation, our project stalled when we ran out of seedlings and we had to return to our jobs. Plus, we couldn’t schedule our mulch delivery until Jason in Sustainability returned from vacation. Actually, I was a bit glad for an excuse to not work on the yard for a couple days. I was kind of “over it.” In the meantime, I purchased another six flats of ground cover.

We got back to the garden on New Year’s Eve. Mark and I couldn’t think of a more romantic way to spend it. While I planted ground cover, he began construction on the planter.

This is when the controversy began: I was laying out the hose for the path on the south side of the lawn. Mark barked at me to make sure it was symmetrical. I replied, “No, perfectly symmetrical would be bad feng shui given the frontal architectural style of our house!” Or something to that effect. Mark just looked at me.

Our bickering ended with Mark loudly exclaiming, “just do whatever you want,” as he jumped in his truck and took off for Lowe’s. I stood there feeling kind of bad about the exchange, even though I had won—then quietly changed the way the path was laid, making it ever so slightly more “symmetrical.”

By the time Mark got back I had finished planting three flats of brown sebum. When he got out of the truck I pointed out how much more symmetrical I had made the path. He said it didn’t really matter to him—that it had been fine the way I had done it. We didn’t kiss, but we did make up.

Putting in this garden has brought out both of our crazymaking characteristics. Mark is a perfectionist. Me, I’d rather just get her done. So while I am fast and effective, Mark is painfully slow and maybe just as effective, but painfully slow for me to watch. So when I saw him walk out with a four-foot-long level, I stayed away from his planter construction. But when he built a perfect circle without measuring it, I told him I’d once read that only crazy people can draw perfect circles without a compass. He asked me if I could draw perfect circles without a compass. I said, “Of course not!” He just rolled his eyes.

Just about then our neighbor from across the street, Roxanne, came over and started raving about our project, from Mark’s awesome planter to my path placement and plant selection. She said, “This is really great marriage therapy for you guys! I just kept planting. It’s surprising how many little seedlings it takes to fill in 1106 square feet of empty dirt!

 A FEW DAYS LATER CAME A PHONE CALL: “Hi, I’m Jason from Sustainability calling about mulch.” We arranged for a delivery only four days away. Jason explained some details. The mulch would be delivered by truckload, each load covering a 30×30 space, one-inch deep. The city prefers not to deliver the mulch in the street. The truckload of mulch requires about a 6×6 footprint. To my surprise, the city will help spread it around your flower beds!

The city mulch is important for several reasons: 1) It is organic weed control and fertilizer; 2) It helps water retention in the soil, thereby reducing the need for watering; 3) It helps establish new plants by warming their roots in cooler weather; 4) It’s free! 5) Organic plant material put into landfills not only takes up space but is responsible for about 25 percent of methane gas that releases to our atmosphere annually.

The amazing free mulch arrived while I was at work, so a neighbor oversaw its delivery. We owe a huge thanks to the Sustainability Crew for the way its workers placed the mulch in our yard. It turns out there was just a bit extra.

Next morning as I left for work, I took a moment to examine the mulch. It was much nicer than the kind I have bought at Home Depot and Lowe’s. It was chopped to a “just right” size, the quality of the wood was fresh and clean, and there were bits of fresh chopped leaves in the mix. It also smelled divine. The color was a nice deep, sienna brown. I loved the stuff so much I’m going to order another truckload for the backyard soon!

Mark and I admired how far we had come in this project.  The mulch definitely gives the garden a “finished” look. Our yard looks like it is being done by professionals, but it is just our little team of two—that and a little help from our friends, and a lot of free stuff! 

Next: Are we done yet?