"John" wrote in message
...
I'm a real newbie gardener, so please forgive what is probably a real
duh! type of question...

My new house came with a large flower garden that is covered with a
layer of what looks to me like pine-bark mulch. Lots of bulbs are
coming up at the moment. I would like to plant some perennial flowers,
such as Delphinium.

I bought the seeds, cleared a patch of mulch, dug in some compost and
fertilizer, planted the seeds, gave them a nice drink of water......
and put the mulch back on top.

This seemed like a sensible thing to do, since the whole garden is
covered with mulch, and the established plants have no trouble poking
their way up, but now I am wondering if this will work with
seedlings?

Should I clear the mulch off my planted areas, until the plants are
established? Or will they indeed make their own path up to the sun?


The builder spread that mulch so it wouldn't become a weedy lot in the
interim before you moved in. I would rake all those pine bark nuggets off
to the side into a pile and save them to use as mulch after you put in your
plantings. Not knowing your location it's difficult to advise further but if
you intend to have a lawn that mulch will only be a hinderence.