"Steve Harris" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Lucy) wrote:

I underlaid a large Pyracantha with bark with the idea that fallen
dead leaves would not show up as much as with gravel. It is working up
to a point, but the blackbirds are throwing it all over the adjacent
paving as they search for insects.


Wretched, isn't it! There are a few things you can do:

1. Plan so that there is a distance of at least 3' between the stem of
the plant you want to mulch and the path you *don't* want to mulch.
Mulch the plant to a radius of 2'. This will:

a) Greatly reduce the debris reaching the path
b) Keep the plant reasonably well mulched as the birds redistribute the
bark.

2. Use a pale coloured mulch such as year old bark or gravel. The birds
seem to go for dark brown.

3. Erect a barrier between the bark and the path. A gravel board
80-100mm seems to work. Two reasons:

a) The birds tend to throw away from barriers
b) It seems to stop a lot of what they do throw going further.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com

I have a 75 mm barrier - I guess I could raise it a bit. I hope you are
right about the year-old mulch, 'cos it has been down about six months now.
Lucy