There are landscaping bricks available today that form an “L” shape so that one side can lay flush with the lawn (eliminating the need for edging) and the other side can rise up an inch or two above the planting area to create a border to hold mulch, and a provide a decorative edge.

Here are a few steps on how to install landscape bricks to the edge of your garden.

1. Dig a trench along the area you would like to lay the bricks.  The trench should be approximately 2” deeper than the depth of the brick and 1-2” wider than the width of the brick.
2. Tamp (compact) the soil to prevent or minimize the shifting of the bricks later. (A tamper can be found at your local hardware store or garden center).
3. Pour 2-3” of sand in the trench and tamp the same as the soil.  The sand is used to raise the bricks slightly above ground level.  Setting the bricks slightly above will allow for a small amount of settling in the future.
4. Lay the bricks in the bed of sand, making them as level as possible.  If there is a lean, make sure the bricks lean toward the grass area and not the garden.
5. Use sand to fill in the inside edge of the landscaping bricks, the garden edge, to stabilize the bricks.
6. Cover the sand with soil and brush away any remaining sand/soil.

Common Shapes:
Simple shapes like rectangles, oblong, and squares are mostly used for Patio Paving applications. When using concrete, these shapes are generally used to imitate things like bricks.

Other shapes:
·        Triangles
·        Octagon
·        Circles
·        Half Circles
·        Irregular
·        Zigzags
·        Keyholes
·        Diamonds
·        Fans
·        Hexagon
·        Rectangle and Square
·        Two Shape Combos

·        Natural Stone Shapes

Most natural stones come with their own unique shapes. So when using natural stone pavers on your patio you may find that the range and selections available are not as broad as those man made paver materials, such as concrete and brick.

Irregular Shapes:
Irregular paver shapes can be used for your patio area. They help create a natural, but elegant formal look. Irregular shapes are made from things such as cuts, broken stones, river rocks, ocean rocks, and broken pavers.

Combination of Shapes: Many combinations of shapes can be applied. This can help break up a large area and add interest to the design and overall outdoor space.

• Consider the source. Most commercial organic mulches, apart from straw, are wood byproducts from the lumber industry. Bagged mulches from good garden centers or home-improvement stores or bulk mulches from reputable landscape supply companies are likely clean and safe. But cheap bags of mulch, such as those often sold at gas stations, may contain shredded construction debris or other waste with toxic chemicals, metals or lead paint.
• Choose mulch for its purpose. Consider the plant when you choose. Medium-textured mulch such as shredded hardwood will work in most places. But in a permanent layer around trees, big chunks, such as pine bark nuggets, will last longer. You wouldn’t want to dig through them in perennial beds, though, so use something finer. In vegetable beds, use something fluffy and easily decomposed, such as straw. An underlying layer of landscape fabric underneath mulch will help deter weeds, if you will never want to dig there. But replenish and tidy the mulch periodically to keep the fabric hidden. Mulch color is strictly a matter of taste; un-dyed dark brown mulch is the most classic look.
• Bag or bulk? Mulch comes in bags, usually containing 2 or 3 cubic feet, or by the truckload, measured in cubic yards. (A cubic yard is 27 cubic feet.) Bagged mulch is much more expensive but easier to handle, especially if you have no place for a pile of bulk mulch. If you buy in bags, you can buy different kinds for different purposes. Bulk mulch can be ordered from garden centers or landscape supply companies. Prices vary; when you shop around, tell the seller what you want to use the mulch for and price the material they recommend for that purpose.
• Plan ahead. To figure out the area to be mulched, break it down into smaller shapes, such as rectangles or circles, measure them and figure the area of each.  Then decide how deep you want it:    *1 to 2 inches for perennial beds and *3 to 4 inches over tree roots.

One cubic foot will cover about 4 square feet 3 inches deep; 1 cubic yard will cover about 110 square feet at that depth.

Here’s a useful calculator. Buying too much mulch may tempt you to spread it too deep, which can obstruct water and air to roots. There is no need to remove old mulch; spread a new layer on top so that the old and new together reach the right depth for plants.

A playground in the backyard for your kids is a great way to keep them entertained and keep them safe from outside influences. However, kids are always tumbling off playground equipment and hurting themselves. For that reason, playground areas need shock absorbing material such as a quality playground wood chips under and around playground equipment.

To protect children, three government regulations control the manufacture of surface material for playgrounds such as playground wood chips. JK Enterprise sells quality mulch and topsoil in Northern Virginia, JK also carries playground wood chips that meets these requirements.

Depth Of Playground Wood Chips

ASTM 1292 provides the guidelines on the depth of wood chips needed to keep a child safe if they fall off playground equipment. A JK professional can help you determine the depth of wood chips you need for adequate coverage. Kids love to climb to the very top of playground equipment. If they fall, something needs to cover the ground that will keep them from a bad injury. You need to know what the distance is from the top of the equipment to the ground. The taller the equipment, the deeper the playground wood chips needs to be. It is important that you have enough playground wood chips to cover the surrounding area as well as under the playground equipment.

Quality Of Playground Wood Chips

ASTM 2075 is the specification that playground wood chips needs to meet for particle size, purity, ability to drain and other established requirements. In addition, ASTM 2075 includes guidelines to control the amount of heavy metal and tramp metal that could cause harm to children. The other requirement that playground wood chip manufacturers need to comply with is the Code of Federal Regulations, CFR 1630/1631. These are the guidelines for resistance to flammability. These three regulations provide some safety measures for children playing in playgrounds at home as well as at public and private playgrounds.

When you want to buy the safest surface materials for under children’s playground equipment, JK Enterprise provides playground wood chips that meets all the government regulations. Nothing can keep children safe all the time, but by buying a product manufactured to the highest standards can help reduce many injuries.

You can see our quality playground wood chips HERE

Common Patio Paver Shapes:
Simple shapes like rectangles, oblong, and squares are mostly used for Patio Paving applications. When using concrete, these shapes are generally used to imitate things like bricks.

Other shapes:
·        Triangles
·        Octagon
·        Circles
·        Half Circles
·        Irregular
·        Zigzags
·        Keyholes
·        Diamonds
·        Fans
·        Hexagon
·        Rectangle and Square
·        Two Shape Combos
·        Natural Stone Shapes

Most natural stones come with their own unique shapes. So when using natural stone pavers on your patio you may find that the range and selections available are not as broad as those man made paver materials, such as concrete and brick.

Irregular Patio Paver Shapes:
Irregular paver shapes can be used for your patio area. They help create a natural, but elegant formal look. Irregular shapes are made from things such as cuts, broken stones, river rocks, ocean rocks, and broken pavers.

Combination of Shapes: Many combinations of shapes can be applied. This can help break up a large area and add interest to the design and overall outdoor space.

At JK Enterprise Landscape Supply, we are proud to say that all of our mulch are made locally here in Northern Virginia (Fairfax and Loudoun County). The mulch goes through a curing process to help reduce weed seeds before being bagged or sold in bulk. We work closely with developers, contractors, and homeowners to close the loop and recycle, rather than burn or bury landscape materials.

Clifton VA Mulch Manufacture & Distribution

The mulch we offer thrives in our region because it is native to Clifton, VA and its surrounding areas. JK is one of few companies that have the ability to manufacture and distribute a wide variety of mulch thus making us extremely competitive in our pricing. We save you money and help do our part in saving the environment by recycling and reusing. This is what sets apart JK Enterprise Landscape Supply from our competition and has made us a leading manufacturer and supplier of mulch, woodchips, topsoil, compost, and soil conditioners. The most abundant mulch that we offer is double shredded hardwood mulch. The pine mulches are mostly used for bedding around plants requiring more acidic nutrients such as azaleas, rhododendrons, etc. Mulch colors and texture can vary depending upon the aging process and time of year.

The Clifton VA Mulch We Offer Are:

• Premium Double Shredded Cedar Mulch
• Premium Double Shredded Hardwood Mulch
• Pine Bark Mulch
• Black Mulch
• Red Mulch
• Brown Mulch
• Pine Bark Nuggets

Our Clifton, VA Location

Find out more about our Clifton VA Mulch products.

At JK Enterprise Landscape Supply, we are proud to say that all of our mulch are made locally here in Northern Virginia (Fairfax and Loudoun County). The mulch goes through a curing process to help reduce weed seeds before being bagged or sold in bulk. We work closely with developers, contractors, and homeowners to close the loop and recycle, rather than burn or bury landscape materials.

Alexandria VA Mulch Manufacture & Distribution

The mulch we offer thrives in our region because it is native to Alexandria, VA and its surrounding areas. JK is one of few companies that have the ability to manufacture and distribute a wide variety of mulch thus making us extremely competitive in our pricing. We save you money and help do our part in saving the environment by recycling and reusing. This is what sets apart JK Enterprise Landscape Supply from our competition and has made us a leading manufacturer and supplier of mulch, woodchips, topsoil, compost, and soil conditioners. The most abundant mulch that we offer is double shredded hardwood mulch. The pine mulches are mostly used for bedding around plants requiring more acidic nutrients such as azaleas, rhododendrons, etc. Mulch colors and texture can vary depending upon the aging process and time of year.

The Alexandria Mulch We Offer Are:

• Premium Double Shredded Cedar Mulch
• Premium Double Shredded Hardwood Mulch
• Pine Bark Mulch
• Black Mulch
• Red Mulch
• Brown Mulch
• Pine Bark Nuggets

Our Alexandria, VA Location

Find out more about our Alexandria Mulch products.

At JK Enterprise Landscape Supply, we are proud to say that all of our mulch are made locally here in Northern Virginia (Fairfax and Loudoun County). The mulch goes through a curing process to help reduce weed seeds before being bagged or sold in bulk. We work closely with developers, contractors, and homeowners to close the loop and recycle, rather than burn or bury landscape materials.

Fairfax Mulch Manufacture & Distribution

The mulch we offer thrives in our region because it is native to Fairfax, VA. JK is one of few companies that have the ability to manufacture and distribute a wide variety of mulch thus making us extremely competitive in our pricing. We save you money and help do our part in saving the environment by recycling and reusing. This is what sets apart JK Enterprise Landscape Supply from our competition and has made us a leading manufacturer and supplier of mulch, woodchips, topsoil, compost, and soil conditioners. The most abundant mulch that we offer is double shredded hardwood mulch. The pine mulches are mostly used for bedding around plants requiring more acidic nutrients such as azaleas, rhododendrons, etc. Mulch colors and texture can vary depending upon the aging process and time of year.

The Fairfax Mulch We Offer Are:

• Premium Double Shredded Cedar Mulch
• Premium Double Shredded Hardwood Mulch
• Pine Bark Mulch
• Black Mulch
• Red Mulch
• Brown Mulch
• Pine Bark Nuggets

Fairfax Mulch Calculator

Do you need to know how much Mulch you need for your yard? We make it easy with our Bulk Mulch and Bag calculator.

Input your numbers by using the spinner or just type in the numbers and hit enter to execute the calculation:

This calculator provides an estimate.

Find out more about our Fairfax Mulch products.

For smaller trees, you should use a shovelful or two of mulch and spread it around the base of the tree in a circle. Even out the 2 inch thick circle of mulch around the tree.   Avoid making a “mulch volcano” around the base of your tree with a pile of mulch that’s more than a few inches thick. If your mulch is too thick you’ll actually be cutting off the possible supply of water and air that can reach the roots.

Using your hands (fitted with gloves) run a little ring around the trunk, pushing the mulch a few inches away so it doesn’t completely touch the tree trunk. It will eventually all settle so you may have to pull the mulch away from the trunk from time to time throughout the season. You really don’t want to completely cover the roots of a small tree with mulch. You need to make sure that some air and water can get right to base of the tree trunk and roots when it rains.

The same is true when you’re mulching around larger trees:  Again, use a few inches of mulch around your tree in a circle, but don’t pile the mulch right up against the bark of the tree.  Mulch will hold in moisture and cause the bark around the base of your tree to get soggy and soft which can invite disease and pests. Instead, keep a few inches of space between the base of your tree and the mulch circle surrounding it. You can also use some sort of landscaping barrier like stones or blocks or a plastic landscaping fence to keep your mulch in a neat circle.

• Tip 1 – Pave the way to long-term savings by using pavers.

Your options for an outside area are vast, but if you want the best value with the lowest maintenance, a paver patio is the way to go. While it may cost more up front, the savings over having to stain and seal it year after year will pay for itself in the long run.

• Tip 2 – Make sure to dig enough ground to provide stability.

You will need to dig at least 6 inches under the surface to prepare the ground below so the pavers won’t shift over time.

• Tip 3 – Make sure to block out the weeds.

Weeds have a way of springing up even between pavers. Lay down a barrier to help stifle their growth and if they are a notorious problem, you may want to consider a soil additive.

• Tip 4 – You need to use a plate to pack the base.

Pavers for patios are only as good as the foundation they’re built on. Packing the soil underneath helps ensure a smooth top surface and less chance of the pavers loosening or cracking. But don’t stop there: You have to repack the base after every new tier (sand, gravel, etc.).

• Tip 5 – Be careful NOT to guide water runoff into your home.

Flat surfaces on the outside of your home have the same properties as your roof; it’s going to wash toward the lowest point. If your paver patio is attached to or close to your house you will need to guide water runoff away from the home by creating a drop. For every two feet of linear distance, a quarter-inch drop will suffice in keeping your home dry.

• Tip 6 – A solid paver patio should have a tight edge.

Your finished paver patio should be a tight, level and evenly spaced patio; any movement will separate your pavers and ruin your hard work. Prevent this from happening by building an edge around your work. You can use extra pavers, a cement lip, or a vinyl or metal edging. After these are installed, backfill to the edge with loose dirt to give the patio a professional appeal.

• Tip 7 – Use a variety of colored pavers to create an organic look.

When it comes to color uniformity, pavers can be treated the same as paint, carpeting and wallpaper: different lots or runs can appear similar, but slight color shading variations are almost always present. Blend the separate piles together and achieve a more natural look, without a patchy appearance.

• Tip 8 – Use a wet saw to make cuts.

Unless you’ve made your patio a complete rectangle, you are going to have to make cuts. Rent a wet saw from your local home improvement store to easily cut your pavers for patio to fit your design.

• Tip 9 – Use sand to fill in the spaces between the pavers.

After your patio pavers have been installed, spread sand along the surface, and sweep it into the cracks all around. This allows drainage but keeps each paver tightly wrapped with material, making it far more difficult to move them out of place.

• Tip 10 – How to replace a broken paver.

It’s always good to have a few extra pavers lying around for the occasional repair. A paver patio is relatively simple to fix. Use two screwdrivers to pry out the old paver. Cut a new paver 1/8 inch shorter than the old paver.  Set it in the space.  If it doesn’t fit, keep trimming and then fill with sand.