The stuff with slivers is fir. The non-sliver stuff is hemlock.

So, go to the bulk yard, look at what they have (other than fir), then choose which one looks best to you.

Usually, the nuggets of Douglas fir don't have slivers. It's the shredded Douglas fir that has many slivers.

Hemlock is not 100% sliver free either, but it seems that way since the slivers are very few.

Hemlock is almost always a fine texture, frequently ligh brown, and may come in bags.

Then there are composts that are made from shedded yard debris, that are dark brown and finer texture than either D. fir or hemlock.

The only drawbacks of the composted yard debris, is that it can crust and repel water if it's used as a top-coat. If it's loosened periodically, it's fine.

Near walkways, or siding, either the compost or dark hemlock can splash and stick to paint, or splatter on sidewalks and track in for stains on carpet.

We buy bark chips/dust/whatever in bags, to mulch pathways and to cushion around the areas where our kids play. The stuff we buy is called "Greensmix", I think, and it's stocked at our local Lowes--If you're in Snohomish there's bound to be one of those not so far from you. It isn't slivery at all, so far as I've been able to tell.

Comes in bags of 2 cubic feet each, on the order of $2.50/bag. Affordable for city-garden quantities, anyway!

Hope this helps,
Angie Kantola