Rubber mulch anyone?

Pine needles are hard to beat as a mulch.

No. There's no need.

If you put down rubber mulch, do not let it catch fire.

When we lived in a townhouse, it was very hard to get grass to grow in the back. Hilly area and big rains, and it would wash out some. I finally pulled it all up, laid down a few bags of pea gravel to level it all out, then did about a dozen bags of rubber mulch over the top. It was very squishy to walk on, but if you're out there in flip flops or sandals it will get up in them. We lived there another couple of years after doing that, and it held up very well. I think the suggestions were to rake it every so often to turn it over and fluff it up. Be prepared to smell old tires right when you put it down and on any hot summer days. You can hose it off to knock the smell down, but for at least a year or so you're going to get a whiff now and then. I don't think I would do it again, mainly because the beds at my place are so large and I just get a few bales of pine straw a few times a year and put that over the top of the old.

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Think I am going to go with the straw. So cheap and may be able to supplement from my trees in the fall as well

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Yep. And I wasn't aware but Lowe's has big round bales of straw instead of the cubes sometimes. Last time I bought some the lady said that was all they had left. I think it ended up being a little cheaper, but they're big. About 2-3 feet in diameter and around 4 feet long.

I also supplement with what is in my backyard. I'll rake up a bunch and get 2-3 wheelbarrows full and wheel them around front and dump them.

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i did cypress mulch

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Same. Not too impressed with it.

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I do use the black felt for weed control, but it's probably not necessary

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I use this and STILL have weeds. They burst through that felt like knives. I'm probably just gonna take all of it out.

I've used cypress mulch for years but switched to pine straw this year. It is vastly superior. I bought large round bales at Stine Lumber.

Rubber mulch gets very hot. If you put it down, only put it where you want nothing to grow. Don't put it around a young tree, for example. It will bake the soil underneath it.