These particular roses aren't tedious. In fact they were quite easy. The way I had been making roses involves 6 heart-shaped pieces; not 2. It's a little trickier. I just LOVE making soda can flowers. I've made many different kinds & enjoy trying out new ones, too. I've got a box of flowers sitting here that need to be put outside. I'll get to it one of these days. Soda cans are very easy to cut with scissors. I have gloves, but don't seem to need them. On the other hand, I've used aluminum flashing for some projects. You can cut flashing with scissors, but the edges are SHARP. You definitely need gloves when working with flashing. Check out some of my flowers in my photobucket album. I'll be posting more flowers soon. Here is a link that might be useful: Photobucket garden junk

That depends on 1) what's available, 2) what you can afford, 3) the look you are going for, and maybe 4) the type of plants you are using the mulch around. I would try to use organic mulch when possible. That way the mulch will build your soil as it decomposes. Most of the time, I use shredded hardwood mulch. It's not always the best choice in some aspects, but it is readily available and much less expensive than some of the alternatives. It also holds together well (prevents wind and erosion issues) and gives a good finished look. Pine bark has many advantages (lasts long, repels insect, doesn't rob surface nitrogen, and looks great), but also some drawbacks (expense, isn't always available in large quantities, can be displaced by wind or water). If you use pine bark nuggets, use the smaller variety unless you have a really large bed and large plants. I think the big nuggets look bad in small beds. I love pine needle mulch, but, since Ed McMahon never came to visit me with a check before he died, I can't afford enough of it to cover my beds. I've used pea gravel in some beds. It looks really nice if well maintained. The two big issues with pea gravel is heat buildup in sunny locations and dirt/debris getting into the crevices. I spend a few minutes every week cleaning out my relatively small amount of pea graveled beds. It's been worth it, I guess, but I don't think I would use it if I had to do it over again. The one thing you should never use is white rocks. Why do people like this look? I have never understood it! I think a slab of concrete or blacktop would be more attractive.

We have a neighborhood group here whose purpose is to eliminate buckthorn. They have t-shirts and other trinkets proclaiming their hatred for the plants. I like this sort of grass roots effort, provided they don't destroy other things in the process of trying to eliminate target species.

The intensity depends on the level of tannins in the wood. If you want even darker, add tannic acid (strong black tea, or boil some oak twigs). And use more steel wool and let it sit longer. Spruce goes deep black-brown Oak - (very tannic) goes a grey-purple, the "whitewood" below it turned light brown Alder turns grey - plain grey