For one thing - mulching is not "essential".

That being said, you'll get as many opinions as there are gardeners. It is true that mulch cuts down on the weeds, retains moisture, keeps plants from heaving out of the ground in freeze-thaw cycles (I've never had that happen), looks nice especially when there is space between plants and so on.

I have a big yard and seven or eight distinct gardening areas - none of them mulched. I, too, am thrilled with an abundance of forget-me-nots that turn all my gardens blue. They choke out weeds and get left alone to drop their seeds and are pulled up once the parent plant is dry and brown. Sometimes I'll collect seeds and scatter them in other places.

I've resisted mulching because I don't want to have to be mindful of covering over and rotting crowns of daylilies, hostas, iris etc. or having the mulch build up against plant stems or restrict the spreading of some perennials, or have to dig through or move aside mulch to plant or transplant something.

I might do extra weeding that mulch would eliminate, but weeding is part of the gardening experience.

Just my opinion.

if you have a cottage style garden.. a riotous mass of interwoven plants ... then no.. mulch is not requisite.. and as you note.. would be near impossible to apply ... but because of the style.. how many weeds can be in there???

if on the other hand.. if you have simple independent groups of 3 plants.. spaced 12 to 18 inches apart .... to showcase each plant or grouping.. then you do need mulch in between to reduce the forest of weeds that will otherwise spread and fill in ...

when working with biennials.. like the FMNots .... in mid to late sept.. remove some of the new plants.. mulch.. then add them back into the soil .. and do half the bed ... leaving half undisturbed ... for procreation sake ... then do the other half next year ... that way you allow for them to survive ....

the alternative to mulch.. is a very early.. or late application of compost .... to fortify the soil ... and provide a very lightweight mulch effect ...

but my best advice.. go visit some gardens and see how other peeps do it .. the zoo.. a park.. just walking the 'hood' ... but instead of being distracted by everything else... just observe how other peeps mulch or compost ...

frankly ... there is NOT 'one proper way' ... its what works for you in your garden of eden

ken

Thanks for the replies! It is a riot of more or less randomly placed plants, but you'd be surprised at the weeds. I have invasive lemon balm that I rip out by the bushel, and veronica agrestis which is a little heartbreaker of pretty that nevertheless has to come out. Creeping Charlie kills me, some myrtle from next door and the violets. I assiduously dig violets because I know they'll be back in the spring, and that's the only time I want them.

I think perhaps I will content myself with a compost layer in March, when it's still cold and nothing is showing except the noses of the tulips and daffodils.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here are a few pictures from July.

from the fence.. dig and establish a dead zone.. a path.. and mulch it heavily ...

when you remove something .. mulch the empty space ...

just start working it in ....

most weed seed needs sunlight to germinate.. the point of mulch.. is to bury them.. and retard germination of as many as possible ... the point being.. its much easier to stop them.. then try to remove them when mature ...

violets seed THREE!! times per year .... and that is why you are always digging them ... they were so cute when i first started gardening.. i grew to hate them with the passion of the heat of a million white hot suns [and if you give me a nickle i will tell you how i really feel]

lemon balm.. or bee balm [is that what you mean] .. grows on rhizome-like runner roots.. and will ignore mulch.. if not be encouraged by it ... i gave up on bee balm long ago for such ... as well as the very similar growing mints .... cute little babes that grow into monsters ... with little or no encouragement .. lol ..

so part of what i am seeing .. is a newbie who need to 'edit' or remove some plants that are not performing to satisfaction .. rather than trying to tame them with mulch

TRUST ME.. you do not have to keep every plant that is bothersome.. they are not children.. you can abandon them .. lol ...

ken

Thanks for wanting to take such good care of a garden someone else planted! I imagine that they are pleased as I would have been if some of my prior gardens had been as well cared for.

You will want to do some careful placing of the mulch/compost even in March, since though you won't have to be avoiding all the plants' leaves at that time of year, some plants aren't happy with the crown buried in mulch during the cold and wet of spring. Those plants are likely to rot, so you want to try to avoid the crowns in placing your compost. Finer mulch is easier to settle in around plants than larger textured mulch in my experience. Also, with wet soil, be careful where you walk so that you don't compact the soil. I have rocks I use for stepping stones.

Bee balm isn't lemon balm. Lemon balm seeds voraciously and I have regretted the day I brought some home from a plant swap.

I don't mulch the areas I want forget-me-nots as mulch is pretty effective in keeping them from sprouting.

I'd suggest deadheading over a bucket (to catch any ripe seeds) those plants like the lemon balm that spread by seed and not putting the seedheads in your compost pile unless it gets hot enough to kill seeds. Now is the time of year to do that before the seeds drop. It will reduce your weeding next year, especially if you do it every year before various perennials go to seed (like your violets in late spring.)

Corn gluten if spread at the right time next spring will prevent some of the seeds from sprouting, so you can also spread some of that around, preferably right before a rain so that it settles into the soil.