How to DIY a Mulch Driveway & Walk Way with Stone Edging

[@venezuelanmayz1]

Great job! Was looking for a better cheaper option using cardboard. This is an amazing idea. The red makes it pop. TY for posting

[@onrockwoodlane]

Sorry I didn't see this sooner! Yes, the cardboard is perfect for projects like this! Glad I could inspire :-) Full disclosure on the red mulch though - while the color is gorgeous, it does fade a bit fast. Here I am at about a year in, and the mulch could use some refreshing. I'll try to put together a video this week showing how it is now.

[@sarahmauldin1754]

Hi! I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing how your mulch driveway is faring. I’m considering doing the same. Looks good!

[@onrockwoodlane]

Sorry I didn't see this sooner! I'll try to put together a video this week showing how it is now after a year in, but basically it's held up pretty well, though the color has faded a lot. It's definitely time to refresh with new red mulch, though I'm really considering switching to rocks as those would not need the touching up - I'm not quite sure yet. We had a busy hurricane season last year, and the mulch stayed put, and did not hold onto the water. In the beginning, I did have some spots of Dog Vomit Slime Mold, which is yellow and sort of puffy. It's not harmful and after it fades away, it adds nutrients to the soil, but does pop up and stay for a couple days and it is not really a pretty sight. It seems to be common in wet and warm climates on organic material like mulch, but it was only a few spots, and only during the first 2 or 3 months or so. Being that trees are nearly hanging over, and close, and squirrels and birds are constantly in my mulch and around it (their feeder is there), weeds have popped up here and there. I've been pulling them out, but a weed spray would work too. The barrier underneath is good for smothering, but it doesn't do anything for that that falls from the sky. My husband did not want a driveway of rocks just because he did not care for the look, but if I were to do it again, I would have done the rocks anyway simply because they would not need touching up, which in the long run would save money, and keep a better appearance.

[@kellylindsey1492]

I will try this. I have weeds that make my animals sick. Used 100's of dollars this year on round up and even tiller. Spent 1300 on my dog and cat. It was horrible. We all love outside so I will try this. It looks nice and will choke the weeds. I only got the invasive purslane weed after 3 oak trees that had termites got cut down.

[@onrockwoodlane]

@kellylindsey1492 this did okay on the weeds for about a year. Seems the cardboard boxes were nearly disintegrated by then, which surprised me, and the weeds were starting to pop through as well as growing from above (from birds and squirrels dropping seeds and such). It was easy to manage in the beginning, but then I wasn't as on top of it. Two and a half years in right now, and the weeds were out of control this past Summer. I would recommend either a thicker barrier if using cardboard boxes, and/or trying a weed barrier (those fabric-ish sheets they sell).

[@NataliesBestLife]

That looks great!!!!

[@onrockwoodlane]

Thanks so much :-)

[@LightingPirate]

There is a ap called mulch drop that would deliver it for free from local arborists trying to get rid of their waste. not sure if there is anything like that in your area but i know this wasn't cheap! It looks amazing though!

[@onrockwoodlane]

Thanks so much! I haven't heard of anything like this, but I'll check around. Eventually I'll need a little refresh.

[@07TBoneMarcus]

Thanks for the video. Im thinking of trying rubber mulch. I think it would work well without the maintenance. What was your overall cost in doing mulch?

[@onrockwoodlane]

I think you're right! I did want to do rubber mulch instead of the natural one, but the cost was too high for me, and since I was already buying some bags here and some there with each paycheck, I didn't want to spread out the project too long. I didn't keep a record of how much this project ended up costing me, but I know Home Depot's website, and other mulch sites, have a calculator to help you determine how much/many bags of mulch you'll need to cover your space, and then you can calculate it with the cost of your desired mulch.

[@Yiyiyi-p5e]

How does do after heavy rains?

[@onrockwoodlane]

So sorry I didn't see this sooner! Living in Central Florida, we get lots of heavy rains and hurricanes. The driveway has held up well to it all. It doesn't hold onto the water, and the mulch stays in place except one spot where the mulch meets the brick area that leads up to our door - it tends to wash out the mulch there so I think I will be replacing that area with some rocks.