Landscaping Rock Advice Needed

[TechBoyJK]

We used mulch in our front yard for landscaping and it lasted about a year before it was moldy and infested with bugs. So I stripped it all out and used the opportunity to lay about 7 yards of dirt around the foundation to shore up and reshape the run off. I just got the weed barrier put down, and now I have to look at putting down rock instead.

Currently, a small part of the front landscaping already has rock, and ideally I think I'd just like to get more of the same. However, rock isn't cheap, so I want to think this through before I spend $200-$350 on it.

1) I'd like to figure what kind of rock we currently have.
2) I like the grey/white rock look, but that might be just because it's what is already there. I'm considering multi-colored rock or like a brown river rock (cheap) as well.

Thoughts?

Here's an old pic of the house (when we bought it) along with 2 pics of the rock we already have. On the far left side of the house is a 5x5 area separated from the rest that already has rock.

 

[Micrornd]

Can't help but feel that ornamental plantings would look so much better than rock.
House looks kinda drab and I think just rock would only contribute more to that.

BTW - What's up with the mailbox? And is the hawk really necessary?

 

[TechBoyJK]

Can't help but feel that ornamental plantings would look so much better than rock.
House looks kinda drab and I think just rock would only contribute more to that.

BTW - What's up with the mailbox? And is the hawk really necessary?

Would you believe they took that mailbox when we bought the house?

Didn't even notice it until 3 days in and the mailman was like wtf and left a note.

That hawk is still perching there almost daily. He's bigger than my biggest cat. I leave him alone.

We'll eventually plant stuff (bushes likely), but for now I need to get the rock base put down.

Should end up kind of like this

 

[PowerEngineer]

My first house had a small Japanese-like garden that included a fake stream bed of 1"-2" river rock. In my quest to minimize my landscape maintenance, I extended my use of river rock to other areas of the front yard. This worked for a while, but dirt gradually filled in the spaces between the rocks and then weeds took over. In hindsight, I would have been better off with bark mulch. For what it's worth, I like to get the biggest bark "nuggets" that I can find because the nuggets take much longer to break down into dust.

 

[bbhaag]

The existing rock you have is called white marble chips most likely 1.25" in size. The brand I used to carry at my store is call Northern Light Marble. It can be found at most home centers and garden centers under different names.

 

[TechBoyJK]

Thanks. I pretty much confirmed it as marble chips today by going up to the local hardware stores and comparing the rocks I had (took a handful) to what they had. One place only had limestone chips which looked similar but the other place had marble chips and it was a perfect match.

 

[bbhaag]

You are welcome. I am glad you were able to locally source the stone you need to complete your project.

 

[IronWing]

If you want to keep weeds out, put down a liner before placing the rock. Liners can be as simple as a layer of heavy duty trash bags (some stores sell "contractor grade" yard bags that work well). The rocks you have look fairly course. The closer the size of the rock is to the size of your feet, the harder it is to walk on.

 

[bbhaag]

While I agree that putting down a weed barrier is a great idea I do not think that using a plastic barrier is ok. The reason for this is while plastic lasts a very long time and will help keep the weeds down is does not allow for water transfer into the soil. If this landscaping bed will contain plants I cannot recommend plastic for that reason. Fabric weed barriers are much better at allowing water to seep into the soil for the plants and will also keep the weeds at bay.

 

[NutBucket]

No matter what you do organic material will end up in the rocks and you'll have weeds. It's a matter of it, not when.

 

[paperfist]

I have a huge 120' planter bed that for years I struggled with using mulch. It was expensive and ginormous undertaking but I replaced it with various sizes of the same rock. Now those Fing squirrels can't dig the *bleep* out of the mulch and I don't have to fix it every year!

Biggest mistake though was poor planning I didn't have all the plantings in so trying to add them after the fact is a nightmare.

@NutBucket is right, you're still going to get that scenario. I'm kind of surprised though that in 3 years I've had very little weeds to deal with. The problem I do have is the leaves will land on the rocks and it looks terrible so yearly leaf blowing in now part of the yard work.

 

[lxskllr]

A little late here, but I'd carefully consider what rocks you use. I'm not a fan of white rocks. Aside from the personal preference of disliking the light color, they get pretty grimy looking as they trap stuff over the the years. Just another maintenance hassle from something meant to reduce maintenance.