Landscape rubber mulch has many beautiful, traditional, and practical applications. The most common use for landscape rubber mulch is as a wood mulch replacement for garden beds like in the photo below.
However, there are so many other great ways to use rubber mulch in your yard that are overlooked. We looked through the landscaping rubber mulch project photos that our customers sent in to find other great uses for it. We have compiled a whole list of amazing uses for rubber mulch below that deviate from the standard garden bed application. You'll be surprised as many of these uses could be perfect for your yard too!
1. Utility Spaces
One of our favorite uses for rubber mulch is to apply it to utility spaces in your yard. Utility spaces include areas where you have a hose, tools, air conditioning units, pool filter units, sheds, etc. These are areas that often require a tougher surface than grass or a better surface than wood mulch because of the traffic and dragging of the hose, tools, etc. Typical landscaping in these areas often become damaged very easily and that is why rubber mulch is such a great solution. Rubber mulch drains water well, prevents muddy areas, and is great for walking/working on.
2. Hardscape Surface
A well textured hardscape utilizes mixed material to achieve a beautiful and practical effect. Different material is used in each location to compliment the purpose/function of the space such as requirements for drainage, foot traffic, stability, durability, etc. The different materials often complement each other and create a rich aesthetic. In this example our customers converted a pebble rock area to black rubber mulch and enjoy the benefit of it being much easier to walk on, which ultimately has made it a much more utilized space.
3. Raised Garden Flooring
Rubber mulch is a great ground cover option for raised gardens. It is easy to walk and kneel on which is perfect for long hours of tending to and perfecting your garden. Additionally, it helps keep the area clean and free of mud as water drains well through the rubber mulch. It is an ideal workspace surface for this type of outdoor setup as it is functional, looks amazing, and will really turn your garden game from hobby to pro.
4. Landscape Designs
We love when customers created creative sculptural designs with their landscape materials. This is one of our favorites that was shared with us because of the bold colors and design elements which turned out so crisp and additive for the landscaping. This homeowner surround his pool with mixed material including blue rubber mulch in undulating wavy patterns reminiscent of the sea. Rubber mulch is so easy to work with its ability to fit in to any shape and because it comes in beautiful colors there are so many possibilities.
5. Sideyards
Sideyards are another favorite of ours, especially when they're covered in rubber mulch. Sideyards often face multiple challenges such as not enough sun to promote healthy grass and poor drainage, which produces swampy and muddy landscapes. Your side yard should contain beautiful landscaping that you are not embarrassed by, be an enjoyable, feasible connection point for walking between you front and backyard, or a clean, functional, and welcoming utility space. Rubber mulch is a great option for side yards because it drains well, is great for walking on, and looks great. We love this green rubber mulch side yard as it emulates grass in an area grass could not grow.
6. Grass Alternative
Maintaining a large area of grass can be very rewarding and beautiful but it can also be expensive, consume a lot of water, and not always perform as expected due to environmental conditions or factors such as a family pet ripping up the yard. A great alternative for a large area of grass is rubber mulch. It looks organic, is low maintenance, performs great, doesn't have the ongoing cost of wood mulch, and is more economical than other surfaces like turf or rock. This customer made the jump to brown landscape rubber mulch and it turned out beautiful.
7. Model Scapes
While this is not in your typical backyard, we love how this blue rubber mulch model of the sea turned out so much that we're including it here and hoping to inspire others to get creative. Model scaping is a real thing and we love how this scene is a beautiful design element in this yard. We have also seen our rubber mulch in museum displays, retail displays and other displays where a natural looking faux ground surface is required.
8. Pool Edging
Rubber Mulch is great for use around the pool in lieu of traditional wood mulch. It won't absorb water and will keep unwanted insects and wildlife at bay when near to the pool. Rubber mulch provides for a refined, clean aesthetic which is often desired for pool landscaping. It works great stand alone as multi-medium buffer zone or as a tradaitional garden bed with shrubbery. As an added bonus, unlike rock or wood mulch it can be easily walked on if needed. Here is an in progress installation of brown rubber mulch that will be surrounded with natural grass creating a second buffer zone between the grass and pool.
9. Floor Cover
We love that this customer chose to use black rubber mulch for their greenhouse flooring. It is a great choice for exterior flooring applications that require durability, drainage, and softness for standing/walking. When this flooring gets dirty just spray it down with water and you never have to worry about cracks, scratches or other issues that typical flooring have.
10. Home Protection from Insects and Critters
Rubber mulch is a great ground surface to apply immediately adjacent to your house. It can help mitigate termites, other insects, and harmful critters like Cane (aka Bufo) toads that might otherwise thrive in wood mulch or other organic ground covering that would traditionally be adjacent to your house. Rubber mulch is not hospitable to most insects so it provides a good buffer and acts as another tool in your overall house protection strategy. Additionally, unlike other organic material like wood mulch, the rubber mulch will not absorb moisture so you won't have a soaked ground cover next to your house. Here is a great example of black rubber mulch used in this manner and also as a utility zone for their hose.
11. Walking Path
Rubber Mulch is a terrific material for creating walking paths both in commercial and residential settings. This photo is a residential application where the homeowner used both rock and black rubber mulch to create a dynamic, textured, and sculptural walking path to their side door. As a surface for pathways, rubber mulch is soft to walk on, durable, low maintenance, drains well, and is even suitable for wheelchair access.
12. Playscape Ground Cover
We receive many customer photos of rubber mulch used as a landscaping ground cover under trampolines and as a complimentary material to turf. Many yards today have putting greens, turf fields, and other fitness areas that benefit from multiple ground cover types such as rubber mulch. The red rubber mulch , as in this photo, helps to break up larger areas of turf and also provides a beautiful delineation for the distinct play zones.
