Americans are obsessed with mulch (and pinestraw). Don’t get me wrong, organic mulch is great for keeping the soil moist and keeping weeds at bay. In fact, I don’t consider a plant fully planted unless it has been mulched. And new beds may often have large areas of exposed mulch until plants have filled in. But huge mulch areas for the sake of mulch is uniquely American. Areas of organic mulch exceeding the area in which plants will eventually grow makes so sense aesthetically.

For instance, how appealing is this bed?

The shape of the bed is nice. But there needs to be more plant area or less bed area.

The bare mulch to plant ratio is better in the second photo, but still needs filling in.