On Tue 22 Jul 2008 08:57:47p, willshak told us...

on 7/22/2008 11:29 PM said the following:
I removed some old, dirty river rock from the landscaping trenches
around my house, and would like to replace it with something else.
There are some bushes every few feet. I'm undecided between some type
of wood chips, or an some type of rock. My house color is tan.

My main concern is that rock gets so dirty and unsightly over time. I
figure with woodchips, I can add new chips in the spring to renew the
look.

Any advice on what to consider? What is easy to clean out (twigs,
leaves, etc)? What is the least maintenance? Other alternatives?

Thanks!

Kurt


There's a third alternative. The processed rubber chips that are made
from old tires. About twice the price of the wood mulch, but less likely
to blow away or wash away like the wood chips. They stay cleaner than
stones.
If you don't have a lot of area to cover, it is sold in bags in the
garden section of the big box stores, or some other garden centers.


Lots of good ideas, but I still don't get the problem with riverbed rock.
Although we also used cedar mulch in some of our landscaping, we used
riverbed rock extensively in other beds. We used landscape fabric under
the rock. Once or twice a season we would spray the rock with an algaecide
and used a low pressure power washer to rinse the next day. It always
looked like new. We bordered all of our beds (rock or mulch) with various
sized small boulders 4-8", which made a nice edging. Careful periodic
spraying the boulder edging with a general herbicide kept weeds and grass
from growing up through the border.

Having said all that...yes, there was some maintenance, but it was a great
look and there were other options that had more upkeep.

--
Wayne Boatwright
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Tuesday, 07(VII)/22(XXII)/08(MMVIII)
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Purring....the sound of a cat
manufacturing cuteness.
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