No grass all rocks?
 

Has anyone done full rocks no grass? What bushes did you keep? I want to do this but keep my trees and get low maintenance bushes that birds and other small outside animals (okay...geckos) will like.

Any ideas. All info would help. I ask here because of the vast knowledge you all have so I hope my questions are not to simple or basic; I just want to learn.

Hoping you have a villa. Can't do all rocks otherwise. A good landscaper can help you decide which bushes to keep. Hopefully, you don't feel you need a palm tree or two to live here. If you do feel a need for palms, stay away from Queen palms. Although the cheapest, they have a lot of issues and really belong in a tropic climate, not sub-tropic.

BTW, we don't have geckos here, we have anoles. Anoles are cute and feisty. Geckos are larger and try to sell you insurance.

Actually, a good landscaper will advise you that you cannot do an "all rock" yard in The Villages. It used to be allowed in villas but no more. It has nothing to do with The Villages, it is a fairly recent rule change by the Southwest Florida Water Management Agency (SWFWMA). It has something to do with all rock yards "messing" with our aquifer by diverting rainwater away from the aquifer and into storm drains. Anyway a quick check with The Villages Architectural Review Committee and/or Community Standards should confirm all this.

Some like the all stones look. Personally I hate it because the trees and shrubs don't care for it. It is not maintenance free as soil will get into the stones over time and the weeds still grow. Water does not absorb as quickly nor do chemical fertilizers. Personally I like to add compost yearly and that is not possible with stones. Try some native Florida plants if you want lower maintenance. I think the only low maintenance yard is the one someone else maintains for you.

I bought a new home with all rock at least in the front There are things planted in the rock but I would like to add some more. I was thinking of groundcover roses. Think this would work? Anyone no who that guy is that is an expert on Florida landscaping?

My ground cover roses have been struggling for a year in the rock. We have drip irrigation in their bed, but it's not enough. I think they get too hot. Of course, this has been an incredibly dry year.

We have replaced our grass with Asian jasmine. No longer need green-up or weed-control and have reduced irrigation.

We have 6 geckos in FL.

Ground cover vs grass vs rock vs mulch
 

A few questions for you regarding your Asian Jasmine (which sounds like it might be just the ticket for us)

Did you have to place other mulch down in addition to the Asian Jasmine?

How do you keep it from encroaching into other areas of your yard, or your neighbors'?

Was this a DIY project, or did you have a company come in?

Thanks!

We used standard (not dwarf) plants and put them in a grid approx 15" apart, then mulched in-between with pine straw. Being under a large tree, leaves have provided on-going mulch. It grows slow enough to just need trimming once a year (after the initial two-year filling in period). It sends out runners, but these can be lifted back on to your property. We would have gone DIY but lifting the existing turf would have been a long job.

Thanks! Do you mind sharing who helped with the project (landscaper)?

I hope this all rock thingy doesn't catch on. I think The Villages is absolutely beautiful and that is reason in itself to not use all rock.

We just used our regular lawn guy to get rid of the grass. He was going to use a turf stripper that takes out the top few inches in rolls, but that would have required replacing with a lot of topsoil so we opted for him just to "scrape" out the grass instead. Have had no problems with grass growing through.

If you have all rocks be sure there is a clear space all around the part of the plant that goes in the ground.

We have all rock beds and have a one foot diameter clear spot for plants and bigger for trees. The roots need to breathe and it also keeps the roots cooler.

To each his own.

As any plant originally put in dies we replace it with those native to the area. As the grass dies we keep extending the size of the rock beds.

Rocks are not a good mulch for plants. The landscape fabric also is not helpful for plant health and growth. "Florida Friendly Landscaping" calls for the use of an organic mulch such as pine bark, pine nuggets, or pine needles. If you look at the Villages landscaping or houses that use an organic mulch you often see much healthier plants than you do in rock mulched yards. Rocks are also hot in the summer. Rocks are good for a mulch in Southwest USA and Mexico where it is dry and hot. Many of the plants in that area like a rock mulch as it keeps their leaves dry and this is important as they rot easily. (Think cactus, agave, yucca, etc..) Here in Florida a natural mulch is organic and feeds the plants as well as provides a cool root zone which you don't get from the rocks.