Rubber, glass, and screws - oh, my!

I'm a lazy homeowner. I'll readily admit that.

I would much prefer sitting on my backside playing on the internet than mowing the grass or painting the house or weeding the garden.

To that end, I was searching for links about the recently-developed rubber mulch. I'd heard that it was more expensive initially than wood but would last a lot longer and allow my laziness to take hold without comprimising the visual beauty that is my house's flowerbeds.

So, first to Consumer Reports and their review of rubber mulch. Sadly, blocked because I'm not a subscriber. Perhaps I'll check the May 2006 issue if I get to the library today (which I should since a CD's due and I can't renew it).

Next was to CBS 4's apparent apparent ripoff of the Consumer Reports story - or at least summary saying that the rubber mulch is just as good as the wood in the long run.

Not an easily-satisfied we searcher, however, I headed to the Star Tribune's article about rubber mulch which said pretty much the same thing and suggested that any rumored smell disapated pretty quickly.

Then to an FAQ from a rubber mulch seller that pointed things out a little more clearly to me.

There are still a few sites that I've found that suggest there are problems and concerns still to worry me about rubber mulch.

As an excellent landscape blog points out, there are other options out there to rubber mulch. There's glass mulch which looks really cool but isn't what I'm looking for - especially at the price - and metal screws which really isn't what I'm looking for to replace wood mulch outdoors.