Editor's note: Throughout the growing season, Mike Hogan, OSU Extension Educator for Agriculture & Natural Resources in Franklin County, will answer gardening questions submitted by Dispatch readers.

The smell of spring is in the air in Greater Columbus — not the smell of hyacinths or daffodils, but the smell of freshly applied hardwood mulch around trees and shrubs and other perennial plants.

I think I’d be hard pressed to find a gardener unaware of mulch, that stuff you put under plants to help keep down weeds and make your landscape beds look more defined. But there’s more to mulch than ...

If you use mulch in your landscape, chances are it has thinned out over the summer and is in need of refreshing. If you’ve been putting off this chore, consider this: Mulching isn’t just about ...