"NC" wrote in message ...
I have now planted the Akebia and the Nelly Moser against next door's
garage wall. In doing this, I had to remove at square of turf at each
planting location. Although the plants are looking good (making their way
up the trellis he kindly allowed me to screw to the brickwork), the ground
where they are planted looks messy. I am planning to add a decorative mulch
around the bases. Is there anything I should avoid ?? Would I do any harm
by using gravel / stones / slate chippings etc ?? How about bark chippings
?

The best mulch is a plant or two.
Why have boring bark chips when you could plant a few nice flowering shrubs
or even a few annuals.