Look locally

Believe it or not, your neighborhood or even your yard could offer a source of free mulch.

Chipped wood and bark from a felled or fallen tree — as long as it’s not diseased or infested, such as with emerald ash borer — make excellent mulch, Lowe said.

“If you see somebody in the neighborhood doing some chipping, go up to them and say, ‘Hey, what are you going to do with those chips?’ ”

Your neighbor might be glad to have you haul them away.

If a tree company is chipping a large specimen in your neighborhood, don’t hesitate to ask them, either. Companies often must pay to dump a load of chips and might be grateful to have a nearby homeowner take them.

[DAWES ARBORETUM] Peter Lowe uses a cross-section of an old tree as a planter for colorful annuals.

[DIANA LOCKWOOD/FOR THE DISPATCH] A weathered stump makes a charming container for impatiens (pink flowers) and coleus (colorful leaves).

[DAWES ARBORETUM] Lowe demonstrates how to use a coffee filter to keep soil from washing out of the drainage hole of a container.