Landscaping - Mulching decoratively

There's a small area between my walkway and the house where I can never get grass to grow. I'd like to dig up the few weeds that are there and put mulch down.
Is there anything special I should know about doing it? I'm thinking about using a concrete brick border around it. Do I dig down a bit before putting in the mulch? Right now the dirt is pretty much even with the sidewalk. Should the mulch end up even with the sidewalk with the concrete brick border sticking up maybe an inch between the mulch and the sidewalk?
Can you tell that decorating - even outside - is not my forte?
Thanks for your help. :o

Hi Mary,

Do I dig down a bit before putting in the mulch?

Yes, if you are going to put down 2" of mulch, dig down at least 3".

Right now the dirt is pretty much even with the sidewalk. Should the mulch end up even with the sidewalk with the concrete brick border sticking up maybe an inch between the mulch and the sidewalk?

You want to have the top of the mulch a bit lower then the sidewalk or a heavy rain will make a mess. The concrete brick border is a great idea. Here's ideas for edging.
http://www.hgtv.com/home-improvement/path-edger-installation/index.html

Newt

Thanks Newt - I know exactly what you mean about a good rain washing off the mulch. I appreciate the info.

Mary, you are so very welcome! Remember to lift with your knees. :) You might consider using a tarp or other heavy plastic to put the soil on that you remove. Then you can drag the tarp to another area and add that nice soil there. If it contains weed seeds and you do this in small increments by doing the top layer and then going deeper, you will end up putting the top layer on the bottom of wherever you put the removed soil.

Newt

Thanks again Newt. I have SO many places to put the dirt I pull out of there. . . . I'm thinking of expanding the patio just to get the extra dirt.
For some reason my lawn (well the dirt anyway) has been eroding down to the street. (Guess there wasn't much grass there and it got so bad that even the weeds didn't want to hang around.:wall: I need a ton (at least) of dirt before I get seed or sod or . . . . . oh no . . . .it's all just too much to deal with at once.
Once I get the patio done I'll probably just enjoy the back yard and forget the front for awhile. hee hee :coffee: