The opportunity is mulching. The next two weekends are the ideal time to cope with it. A mulch is a layer of straw, compost, leaf mould, chopped waste or bark. It has to be spread on the surface of flowerbeds to a depth of at least two inches. It may sound a bother, but it will save no end of work later in the year. Its primary aim is not aesthetic. It is to conserve damp in the soil underneath it and to block out weeds there too.