What's Bigger Than A Honda CRX?

Answer: A mountain of mulch.

When 20 yards of gorgeous shredded bark mulch was dumped on my driveway awhile back, it all but swallowed my little 19-year-old CRX.

I love the look and smell and feel of new mulch. Of course, all this stuff is now where it should be -- in the beds and borders of my yard. When I was out weeding the other day, it reminded me of why mulch is the elixir of the garden.

Actually, there weren't that many weeds to pull -- mulch smothers what I think of as the dust bunnies of the garden. And when I grabbed a little locust seedling that was hiding among the dahlias, it's taproot gave with hardly a tug. Usually, I need a trowel to dig the pesky invaders out.

Mulch also helps your soil retain moisture so you don't have to wage a daily battle with hoses. And it cools the earth in summer. Which brings me to one of my biggest pet peeves -- over-zealous gardeners and especially landscapers who mulch in May. The plants are barely in the ground and they're up to their necks shivering in shredded bark or cocoa hulls. You want to let the soil warm up before you mulch. I'll remind you about it next spring.

My central air conditioning died just as the days of crushing heat arrived. I'll still waiting for the new system to be installed. I'm wilting. But my flowers and vegetables aren't. Maybe I should go sit in the mulch.