Frances,
I wandered onto a composting site several years ago from Texas and it argued persuasively that the best mulch is from the local trees as it has the local trace minerals, etc. that won't be replenished if ...well, for example, pine mulch from sandy soils come in.
Pine needles do have the advantage of acidifying our soils, disadvantages include hurting when they stick me when weeds do come up through the needles as they break down. Pine bark ....well a lot like ground up pallets.
I'm really happy with the mulch we get at Shamrock Organics, which seems to the be source of a lot of local mulch sellers, who double the prices.
(I'm not a fan of pine forests, except they grow good azaleas as understory plants.)
Ann

Where is the best place to buy low priced mulch and/or compost in the middle Tennessee area?
Does anyone know anything about the place south of downtown Nashville, I think, that beats ups hundreds of pumpkins in the fall and then sells compost made from them later?