In georgia we have pine straw mulch. Ironically, it is harvested in florida pine plantations and hauled up to ga and the carolinas yet it's unheard of in florida gardens. It lasts longer than hay and doesn't have the hay seeds which germinate readily.

Thanks for the idea. I'll tell him to consider pine straw. I think he was going to go with spoiled hay because it's less expensive, but I'm not sure. It's a big project, and he's going to be using a lot of mulch, whatever sort he goes with, so cost is a consideration. As for the seeds in the hay, the "Ruth Stout technique" is just to keep on adding hay, smothering any seeds that sprout.

Does anyone have any suggestions for other plants and bulbs that might do well?

Bill

It may depend on what the hay is from. Up here in the northern part of the state the pinestraw and hay (wheat/rye/oat) can be found at any home improvement store and not uncommon to find both at roadside stands out of the back of a trailer. Both run about $3.50 a bale and I can tell you it does add up so the longer it lasts, the less often you have to buy it and it's also time consuming to install it. The hay is used most often for seedling lawns which is something that might not be that common in south ga. You can harvest your own pinestraw pretty easily. It's best from the longleaf pines though. Using hay might return a little nitrogen, giving you some fertilizer value then again there was a topic in this forum not long ago that discussed the downsides of using grass clippings as mulch and I can't remember all of them but heat build-up was one of them.

As for controlling weeds, you can simply use a pre-emergent in your planting beds or I've discovered if you get the hay about 6 months before you actually need it and let it sit outside, the seeds wont be as viable later down the road. In fact I've got a leftover bale sitting out in the yard that was left over from a lawn project in the fall and the hay seeds germinated and growing quite vigorously all around the bale. So I go and cut it periodically and stuff the new hay in with the bale. It's like having my own little hay factory.

As for plants, someone else would know more about the perrenials than I although I don't see why your choice of mulch makes it different than other gardens in terms of what to grow. It may be helpful to know what the sun and soil conditions are if you didn't already mention it.

A good source for liatris and butterfly weed is the Farmers and Consumers Market bulletin. You will find many easy care plants and seeds available there. It is published by the GA Agriculture Dept.