A Bit Of Gardening

It's that time of year again when spending time in the garden (whether you love gardening or not) is a necessity.  As most of you know, this is my first proper Spring in our new house. We moved house last spring (how time has flown by!) but I was so busy with unpacking and trying to keep some normalcy to family life, I had practically no time for gardening.

I still don't, if truth be told. Our builders have just finished major building work, so I'm super busy with painting, decorating, and cleaning up the mess - it all seems never-ending. Meanwhile, to hold off doing more gardening than I have to, I've discovered a super solution to keep the weeding to a minimum. Our local diy and gardening shop has just started selling rubber mulch, a clever item which was originally used only in children's playgrounds. You may have stepped on its soft surface while taking your own kids to the sea-saws.

It's 100% recycled from old rubber, is soft and safe, and comes in several bright colours. I remember collecting some leftover red ones (8 years ago) from my daughter's old school when they re-did their playground. I used the loot in the front of the kids' playhouse at home. I was surprised when I noticed it (in smaller portions) as an option for the domestic garden.

I bought some and used it as landscape mulch around my roses late last summer and have had no problems whatsoever with weeds. A week ago, I got some more, as I've got ideas of how I can use them in the garden functionally and aesthetically - it's a win-win situation. When the garden is in good shape, I shall be taking some pictures to share with you.

Have you discovered something clever lately? Have you used something domestically which was originally only used industrially?