鋪在土上的那一層東西
核心畫面本身。
noun · B2
A layer of material such as rotting leaves, bark, straw or grass cuttings that you spread over soil. It holds water in the ground, keeps the roots warm, and leaves weeds less room to grow.
護根層；覆蓋物
核心畫面
A soft layer lying on top of the soil — leaves, bark, straw, grass cuttings — slowly rotting down, holding the water in and keeping the light off the weeds.
mulch 的畫面可以想成蓋在土表面的一層軟東西。落葉、樹皮、稻草、剪下來的草，堆在植物根部四周。它不翻進土裡，就躺…更多收起
mulch 的畫面可以想成蓋在土表面的一層軟東西。落葉、樹皮、稻草、剪下來的草，堆在植物根部四周。它不翻進土裡，就躺在上面慢慢爛掉。水份被它壓在土裡。陽光被它擋住，雜草長不起來。這個字的每個用法，都繞著這一層東西打轉。From the word’s history
The word probably comes from Middle English melsche, molsh, meaning soft, and behind that Old English milisc, literally honeyed or mellow. The softness of half-rotted leaves is in the word from the start.
這個字大概從中古英文 melsche、molsh（軟的）來，再往前是古英文 milisċ，字面是「加了蜜的、甜軟的」。那股軟爛的感覺，就是落葉鋪在土上慢慢化掉的樣子，從一開始就寫在字裡。
Wiktionary entry 'mulch' (kaikki snapshot 3f6f69a190036ae4), supplied in this packet; the source itself hedges with 'probably'
Two branches
圍著這層東西的兩個動作
名詞直接拿來當動詞用，受詞不同就走向不同的動作。
verb · B2
To spread a layer of mulch over soil, usually around plants, so that the ground keeps its water and weeds have less room to grow.
鋪上護根層