Have you ever heard of anyone coming out against sandwiches? Of course not because they’re delightful as a concept. Now, when it comes to specific sandwiches, they can be good or bad, over or underdone.

Landscaping is like making a sandwich. Your trees and flowers are the meat because when you talk about a ham sandwich, the point is the ham. The lawn is the bread because it’s the carrier.

But mulching makes it all work by bringing it together. So in this sandwich analogy, mulch is mayonnaise.

No Mayo, No Sandwich

Unless you’re talking about Peanut Butter and Jelly, you can’t have a good sandwich without mayo. It’s impossible. Sure, you can dress it up with flavor or add some culture to the ‘wich and call it aioli, but the base ingredients are the same – egg yolk, oil, and either lemon or vinegar.

Mayonnaise is not the star of the show. But it makes it work. Because it adds fat and acid, it balances out the meat and bread while preventing it from being too dry.

That’s a lot of benefit for three ingredients in a condiment that never gets much credit. That’s why mayo is mulch.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a4nck1pd-jNVuX8xRdOYUELMY_F7Jf1G/view?usp=sharing
Alt Text: Mulching in South Pasadena, FL
Alt Desc: Mulched garden in South Pasadena, FL.

Bringing it Altogether

You don’t get a sandwich for the mayo, but you miss it when it’s not there because the rest of it doesn’t taste or feel right. Likewise, if you don’t mulch your landscape, the trees, flowers, and lawn don’t work quite as well.

Mulching makes everything else look better by accentuating it. It also has functional roles (or should I say rolls) that improve the yard and give it more common ground with mayonnaise.

This Bread is Too Dry!

Mayo prevents your sandwich from getting stuck in your throat like a cracker without a beverage. Mulch also brings moisture (or retains it anyway). So when you mulch around your trees, shrubs, and gardens, you stop your soil from drying out prematurely.

Other Mulching Functions (Hey, Metaphors Aren’t Perfect)

Mulch has other functions as well. Like mayonnaise, it’s multi-functional. But here, their roles are less directly comparable.

While mayo adds flavor through fat and acid, mulching adds beauty with color and texture. During a landscaping transition, mulch might be the only thing still adding color to your yard.

Mulch also acts as an insulator and weed barrier, which has zero direct correlation with mayo but is very relevant to your landscape. The mulch covering the roots protects them when the weather suddenly gets hot or cold. Weeds tend to spread in gardens, and lawns also have a habit of creeping in. Mulching prevents both of these from occurring.

Don’t Spread It Too Thick

Too much of a good thing ceases to be good. We’ve all had sandwiches drowned in too many condiments. Condiments’ purpose is to enhance, not provide, all the flavor.

Mulch is the same.

Too Mulch

If you spread your mulch too thick, it causes problems. First of all, it doesn’t look right. It’s evident that the job was done haphazardly, and your yard will be unattractive.

But secondly, when applied too thickly, mulch can have the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of protecting plants, it can smother them.

Not Enough – You Need More Than a Schmear

Of course, if you put too little mayo on a sandwich, it can be overwhelmed with bread. If you use too little mulch, it can blow away or break down too quickly.

In both cases, if you don’t apply evenly, you will have bare spots, and those bare spots create issues for your overall sandwich or yard.

In the case of mulch, that means it looks wrong and doesn’t serve its function. Of course, if you’ve made a sandwich, you already know the effects of too little mayo!

Let’s Make a Delicious Landscape

Did you ever notice that sandwiches taste better when deli workers make them? Well, you will be happier with your landscape if design, installation, and maintenance when professionals handle them.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t have input – after all, you pick out your sandwich. But when you leave it to the pros, you’ll be happier with your final product.

We hope you enjoyed this metaphor and we didn’t spread it a little too thick. Now, call us to help meet your mulching and other landscaping needs!