Okay, I grabbed some old clothes and placed them around one tree as mulch.

here's what it looks like:

The little extra rocks are holding the clothes down from blowing away until i can get some heavier mulch on top of it all. it doesn't look bad. My pine tree is all tucked in!

I have been using some old clothes for my kitten to learn potty training on. I know it's not as good as kitty litter, but i can't stand the smell of that stuff, or the little crunchy bits under my feet. She's happy to go on old clothes in the corner, so that works for me.