Provo sits at 4,549 feet along the Wasatch Front, where the Provo River winds through the valley floor and neighborhoods climb the eastern bench toward the towering canyon walls near Bridal Veil Falls. The silty loam soils across Happy Valley hold moisture reasonably well but tend to crust and compact under the intense summer sun, making a consistent mulch layer critical for productive garden beds and healthy tree rings. With only about 18 inches of annual rainfall, homeowners in Provo and neighboring communities like Springville and Mapleton depend on bulk organic mulch to stretch every irrigation cycle through the dry summer months. The tight growing window between the last spring frost near the end of April and the first fall frost in late September means soil preparation cannot wait, and amended planting beds give every dollar of seed or transplant a real head start. Down toward Spanish Fork and Payson, sloped terrain and spring snowmelt runoff make decorative stone and gravel essential for erosion control along drainage lines and hillside beds.