Spring is in the air, garden cleanup is underway and a fresh layer of mulch gives any landscape or garden a clean look while suppressing weeds.

Who doesn’t appreciate less weeding!

Mulch also reduces evaporation, so less watering is needed; moderates soil temperatures in all seasons; minimizes splash from heavy rainfall or watering, which helps reduce the spread of fungal infections and diseases; helps reduce erosion; and natural mulch improves soil quality as it slowly breaks down over time.

There are many types of natural mulch available. Wood chips, shredded bark, pine straw and grass clippings are the most common. But have you thought about a living mulch?

Living mulch can be any plant you enjoy that is planted close enough to shade the soil. They have the same benefits as other mulches, but provide so much more!

Living mulch can provide food. Strawberries are my absolute favorite living mulch. Their leaves provide beautiful thick coverage over a long season and who doesn’t like strawberries!

Even sweet potatoes, with their dense spreading vines, or annuals, such as salad greens, can provide good soil coverage while feeding your family.

Herbs such as creeping thyme, oregano, lavender and rosemary smell great when walked on, or brushed as you walk past, and provide fresh seasonings for the kitchen at any time.

The flowers of living mulches also support pollinators and beneficial insects. Dutch white clover forms a short dense mat that stands up to foot traffic and is a favorite of bees. Buckwheat grows quickly, helping choke out weeds, and has flowers that attract numerous pollinators and beneficial insects.

Living mulches provide ecological support for your plants. Legumes, such as peas and beans, can be densely planted to provide sufficient cover while also providing nitrogen for your plants.

Going into fall, “cover crops” like rye, wheat, oats, vetch, peas, radishes and brassicas can be planted to keep your soil alive through the winter, provide biomass, help break up compacted soil and provide additional nitrogen. Keeping living roots in your soil supports microbes that repair your soil ecosystem resulting in healthier plants.

Living mulches come in a variety of heights, colors and flower possibilities, for both sun and shade, to provide many design options to enhance your garden.

Choose the plants that interest you and fit the space you have for them.

Plant them thick enough to shade the soil and you have living mulch.

Debbie Kober is a member of the Barry County Master Gardeners. She may be reached at debbie.kober@gmail.com.