g'day pixo,

a lot depends on what you want to achieve and what type of garden it
is ie.,. vegetable or shrubs and palms sort of thing.

first up for me i don't go for the use of peat moss/mulch this is a
non-renewable resource the mining of which degrades wetland habitats.

when i had a tree type garden eg.,. palms natives understory of ferns
etc.,. my favourite mulch was chipped tree from tree loppers,
decomposes into a nice dark coloured humus as it breaks down keep
adding i layed it around 6" deep.

the straw and hay type mulches can also be used in these situations,
they tend to be used mostly in vegetable gardens, the straw types take
longer to break down as against the hay mulches like pasture grass or
lucerne hay.

i've never been much on pine bark, it is at best only window dressing
and can in fact make the soil acid if and when it rots down. have
never come across red wood mulch or cottage mulch. there is also
something called river mulch and that is stones from creek/river beds
definately only window dressing and another where habitat is being
disturbed on a permanent basis.

they all have abilities to hold moisture in but i always reckon might
as well get some other benefits so i use the green hay mulches they
break down continually and add to the soil structure.

hope this explains some well from how i see it least wise.

len

snipped
--
happy gardening
'it works for me it could work for you,'

"in the end ya' gotta do what ya' gotta do" but consider others and the environment
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gardenlen1/