Mulch / Bark
When considering your landscape design you may want to include mulch or bark, an option that offers many benefits to your lawn and garden. Mulch or bark protects the soil it covers, retains moisture, reduces soil erosion, suppresses (but does not inhibit) weed growth, and provides nearby plants with essential nutrients as it decays. Mulch or bark can be an aesthetically pleasing addition to any landscaping project.
Colors are a personal preference. Cedar smells the best and deters most insects, while hardwood breaks down into a nutraited topsoil and is great for new plantings, as it's made from the barks of trees. Playground mulch also breaks down and the nutrients are great for fruit bushes. Also, it is state tested to be safe for children and is made from pine and bass wood materials.
Red, black and walnut brown are dyed mulches made from multiple hardwood and bark materials. With dyed mulches, the color will fade in the rain; however, all mulches will fade, but if you maintain a thick bed, you can take a leaf rake or your fingers to "fluff" it and the colors will come back to life.