Benefits of Rebarking Your Landscape

No matter how sturdy or resilient it may be, every component of your outdoor space needs a little TLC every now and then. If you want your landscaping to continue looking wonderful day after day, season after season, year after year, a little maintenance is essential. Lawns need mowing. Trees and shrubs need pruning. Flowerbeds need weeding. Patios need washing. And wood chips need replacing.

Yes, it’s true. If you’re using woodchips or bark pieces as mulch around flowers, as shock absorbers under playground equipment, or for any other decorative or functional touches, replacing them (known as rebarking in the business) once per year offers several big benefits.

• It just looks nicer. Woodchips, bark, and similar pieces quickly lose their color after a year of rain and snow, becoming dull and gray. You may not notice the difference as it’s happening, but when you finally replace your old chips with fresh ones, you’ll be shocked at how much brighter and more vibrant your lawn appears!
• It keeps your kids safer. Woodchips are great for playgrounds—a 9” layer can greatly reduce the risk of injury from a fall of up to 5 feet. However, old chips get compacted, reducing their ability to cushion shocks effectively. A playground with fresh woodchips is a safer playground.
• It helps your flowers and plants stay healthy. Fresh woodchips or bark make a great mulch—they not only help the soil retain moisture and resist temperature fluctuations, but also keep weeds at bay. Fresh chips piled to the appropriate depth every spring do this much better than old chips that haven’t been replaced for several years.

Woodchips may be tough, but they aren’t brick or stone. Because they’re organic, they break down and decompose over time, and they can be kicked away by children and washed away in inclement weather. In order to maintain an appropriately thick layer, they need to be replaced periodically.

If it’s been over a year, replace those tired, dull-looking chips with a fresh layer by calling Bosch’s Landscaping. We can help you pick out a great-looking, practical style for whatever you use them for. Give us a call at (616) 399-6861 and let us handle your annual rebarking.