Complement Your Red Brick House With Black Mulch Landscaping
A red brick house is a timeless architectural style that exudes charm, warmth and character. However, finding the right landscaping to complement the rich red brick exterior can be tricky. You want something that will enhance the curb appeal without clashing with the bold brickwork. One elegant yet understated solution is black mulch. Read on to learn why black mulch is an ideal choice for a red brick house and how to incorporate it into your landscape design.
Why Black Mulch Works Well With Red Brick Houses
The traditional red brick front looks great with black mulch because it has a sleek, classy look. Because of these things, black mulch is a great choice:
Color Contrast – The deep black color creates striking contrast against the vivid red brick, making both elements stand out. This contrast adds visual interest.
Uniformity – Unlike bark mulches with varied textures, black mulch has a uniform jet black color and fine texture. This monochromatic look results in a clean cohesive aesthetic.
Black mulch helps define and outline the garden beds by giving them structure and drawing attention to shapes and contours.
Focal Point: If you have a big red brick house, you want the architecture to stand out. Black mulch frames the home without competing for attention.
Black is very versatile because it can be used with any color of plants or hardscape materials. You can’t go wrong with basic black.
Sophistication – The color black evokes class and luxury. Paired with traditional architecture, black mulch is elegant.
Types of Black Mulch for Red Brick Houses
If you’ve decided to use deep, dark mulch with your red brick house there are a few black mulch options:
Rubber Mulch – Made from recycled tires, this mulch has an extremely dark black color that pops against red brick. Rubber mulch is also useful for play areas since it cushions falls. However, it can be more expensive and the color fades over time.
Dyed Mulch – Natural mulches like pine bark are dyed black. They come in shades like black, deep black, or jet black. The color will gradually fade over a year. Reapply dye yearly or remove and replace the mulch.
Colored Wood Mulch – Specially processed hardwood creates rich black colored wood mulch. It retains its deep black tone for 1-2 years without fading. Eco-friendly dyes are used.
Cypress Mulch – Cypress trees native to swamps naturally turn very dark gray-black when aged. Shredded cypress mulch has an extremely dark charcoal hue. No dyes are used in production.
Black Lava Rock – For a contemporary, minimalist look use black lava rock. The petite pebble size and irregular shapes provide texture. It won’t fade, requiring less maintenance. But lava rock retains and radiates heat.
Black Gravel – Gravel offers a crisp contrast against the organic brick texture and is ideal for xeriscaping. Use pea gravel or crushed granite in black for modern appeal. The inky color comes from mined dark stone, not dye.
Design Tips for Incorporating Black Mulch
When integrating black mulch into your red brick house landscape, follow these design tips:
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Use black mulch in all visible areas near the home for a unified look.
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Outline beds and tree rings with 2-4 inch deep bands of mulch. Crisp edges make the color pop.
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Widen mulch beds if plantings are sparse to emphasize color while avoiding large bare soil expanses.
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Add bright contrasting garden features like trellises, furnishings and containers to prevent an overly dark look.
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Include light colored plants and flowers to balance the mulch darkness.
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Use mulch to define the entry path and continue it alongside the home.
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Apply black gravel mulch to driveways and walkways to extend the theme into hardscapes.
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Accent the entry area with container gardens rimmed in black mulch.
With the right details, black mulch can feel softly elegant rather than gloomy. Balance the deep color with lighter elements and elevate the overall design.
Plant Selection for Black Mulch and Red Brick
Choosing the right plants is crucial for a seamless black mulch and red brick color scheme. Include a mix of foliage colors and textures to create depth and contrast. Ideal plant options include:
Flowers: Impatiens, petunias, salvias, marigolds, zinnias, cosmos, geraniums, pansies, daisies
Shrubs: Abelia, spirea, hydrangea, lilac, butterfly bush, azalea, viburnum
Ornamental Grasses: Pennisetum, carex, miscanthus
Groundcovers: Lamium, ivy, liriope, creeping Jenny, vinca
Ferns: Autumn fern, tassel fern, Japanese painted fern
Foliage Plants: Caladium, coleus, coral bells, hosta, artemisia, heuchera
Avoid pale pastels and all-white schemes. Opt for bright, saturated hues like crimson, magenta, and citrus yellows. Purple, burgundy and forest green foliage also looks stunning against black.
Maintaining Black Mulch Around a Red Brick House
To keep black mulch looking fresh, follow these maintenance tips:
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Inspect beds monthly and rake back into place if displaced.
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Replenish mulch annually each spring, typically 1-2 inches deep.
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Monitor faded black mulches and re-dye or replace when color loss is excessive.
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Use edging between mulch beds and lawns to prevent grass/weed invasion.
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Weed regularly to prevent unwanted plants from sprouting in the mulch.
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During dry periods, water plant beds to keep mulch slightly moist and prevent floating.
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Test pH yearly as acidic mulch may lower soil pH over time.
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Thoroughly clean up spilled mulch on hardscapes to prevent staining.
With periodic care, black mulch can retain its dramatic color and keep your red brick house looking its best for years. The striking contrast and unified look is well worth the minor upkeep required. For an instant curb appeal boost, classic red brick plus chic black mulch is a winning combination.
Reasons for Using Mulch
Mulch performs several functions in a garden:
- It helps plants get established and grow by increasing the survival rate of seedlings and improving the growth of root systems and seeds.
- It improves soil moisture and nutrition.
- It maintains optimal soil temperature.
- It cuts down on soil loss, compaction, weeds, pesticide use, salt and pesticide pollution, and pollution of watersheds.
- It makes garden beds and areas with a lot of foot traffic look better overall.
Use mulch on garden beds as a top dressing or on high-traffic areas where the lawn or ground is often soggy. Mulch helps absorb moisture and provide a nice walking path.
Mulch is available in a variety of compositions and sizes:
- A medium-strength mulch made from woods like cedar and pine is called bark mulch. Bark mulch interlocks so it won’t wash away. It’s ideal for gardens on a slope or walkways. Over time, it breaks down into the soil, which is good for the health of your garden.
- If you have a flat garden, bark nuggets are a good choice because mulch is less likely to wash away. Because they are big and chunky, bark nuggets don’t break down as fast as pine straw or bark mulch. You won’t have to reapply this product as often, which will save you time and money.
- For paths and slopes, pine straw needles work great because they stay put and don’t break down quickly.
Bark mulch and bark nuggets are available in a variety of colors. Mulch that hasn’t been color treated is more prone to fading than color-treated mulch.
Tip: You can make mulch from dry shredded leaves and grass, but don’t use chemically treated grass clippings, especially around your planted edibles.
If you don’t need to improve the soil but still want ground cover in some parts of your garden, try one of these:
- Landscape rocks that don’t break down are pea gravel, river rocks, and marble chips. Lay them down once and clean them up as needed instead of once a year. They look great in dry places or as garden borders. There are many shapes and colors of landscape rocks to choose from. But it’s hard to get rid of them if you change your mind.
- There are many colors of rubber mulch, and it is a good choice for a safe surface. Use it under play structures and play areas. Rubber mulch, which is mostly made from old tires, is a soft place to land when you do slip and fall. This mulch maintains its color and doesn’t decompose. Put up a wood, brick, or edging border around it to keep it from spreading to nearby lawns, gardens, or watersheds.
For mulch that will go with your flowers, pick a color that works with your blooms.
White and yellow flowers look beautiful with red mulch. Purple flowers conflict with red mulch but look stunning against black and brown mulch. If youre growing plants with dark foliage, almost any mulch color will provide a nice contrast and help make the plants stand out.
To match a mulch color to your home, consider the style and materials used in its construction.
- Red brick can look softer with brown mulch, and sharp, squared edges will look even better with black mulch.
- Light-colored siding, like white, cream, or pale blue, can look flat if you use red mulch around the base of the house. A color scheme of gold and warm tones looks great with red mulch.
- When you put black mulch around green plants like hosta and sweet potato vine, the colors really stand out. For gray and contemporary homes, use black mulch.
Pros and Cons of Black Mulch together with some alternatives
FAQ
Does black mulch look good with red brick?
Red brick can look softer with brown mulch, and sharp, squared edges will look even better with black mulch. Use red mulch to give a grounded look to a home with light-tone siding like white, cream or pale blue.
Can I put mulch against a brick house?
Expert Response. While termites won’t be consuming the mulch as a primary food source, they might use it as shelter for their foraging tunnels due to the retained moisture, so keeping it away from the foundation a few inches should suffice.
What is the downside of black mulch?
Black mulch can also be messy, especially after heavy rain, and might end up scattered around the garden. Another drawback includes the risk of fire. Jun 24, 2024.
What color plants look best on red brick house?
Flowers for Your Red Brick Home Try using white with soft blues, lemons and a touch of lilac.
Is black mulch good for a red brick house?
When put next to a red brick house, black mulch stands out very clearly. This color also has many other uses. Black mulch keeps the garden soil cool, thus making it ideal for high rainfall areas. However, this bold mulch color tends to attract heat and lose its natural appearance after a year of being exposed to direct sunlight.
What color mulch goes with red brick?
The most complementing and long-lasting colors that work with red brick include black, dark brown, and golden yellow mulch. Furthermore, red mulch derived from natural bark and wood chips can also be a good match with a red brick house. Some homeowners may not be familiar with mulch, let alone which colors to choose from.
What is red mulch good for?
Red mulch looks great in rock gardens and can be a great way to show off flowering hedges or unusual plants. The only downside to red mulch is that it creates a lot of heat around the home by absorbing the sunlight rather than reflecting it back.
What flowers go with red brick?
To create visual interest throughout the year, make sure you plant a well-balanced collection of bulbs, evergreens, perennial and annual flowering plants. Go for light red or soft pink flowers to pair with your red brick house. Muted yellows and creamy white foliage also work well. There are also blue and purple flowers that complement red brick.