Mulch dye offers an easy way to refresh your garden beds, but is spraying your outdoor surfaces with pigment actually safe?

It’s a dye made specifically for recoloring faded mulch. You mix concentrate with water in a pump sprayer, spritz it over your flower beds and poof — fresh mulch. It seems like a no-brainer.

Dyed mulch is a popular choice for homeowners looking ... including the type of dye used, exposure to sunlight, and weather ...

Big box stores tend to sell bagged, dyed mulch. This mulch has three issues that make it a poor choice: the dye itself, which fades and adds a chemical to your beds; the lack of nutrition in it ...

Instead of spending money on new mulch, why not spend just a few dollars on mulch dye? That’s what one reader does often to give his flower beds a touch up. If you purchase a product or register ...

Mulch provides a variety of benefits for gardens, including weed control, temperature regulation, and moisture retention. Organic mulches, like compost and wood chips, decompose over time ...

A garden bed with multiple different colors of mulch - Svetlana Klaise/Shutterstock ...