Compost – By far the standard in Houston is Nature’s Way Resources’ Two-Year-Old Leaf Mold Compost. A close second is the vegan compost from The Ground Up followed by Landscapers Pride compost and finally Top Shelf Organic Compost.
Shredded and double-shredded hardwood mulches – They will have a bit of compost in them as well. Nature’s Way, The Ground Up and Landscapers Pride makes several varieties.
Mixed (blended) mulch – These mixes of shredded hardwood and shredded pine bark mulch give you a darker color longer. Landscapers Pride Black Velvet may be the perfect example of this. Nature’s Way Resources and the The Ground Up, have similar examples.
Texas native mulch – Anything you can certify as “Texas Native” is good. Nature’s Way has it. Landscapers Pride sources all their ingredients locally.
Pine Straw – Sounds simple, and there’s usually plenty of it around. It should be used more often, especially around evergreen shrub beds with such plants as azaleas, gardenias and camellias.