[johnfarr]

I have rock in front and mulch in back. Both have issues:

Wood chips: weeds are easy to pull - and not many get rooted. I go around about once a week and pull these weeds. We have concrete curbing which makes it difficult for grasses with runners to get over that. If they try - ROUNDUP! Wood chips provide compost and as they break down you have to renew about 2 - 3 times a year. Each time you put it down the new chips make it look great. I prune the bushes and cover with chips - no raking! Thet can blow around. If my mower hits a chip - no problem! but if it hits a landscape roch - not so good. Mulch is where Palmetto bugs live, so I spray 3times a year.

Stone (with weed barrier underneath): You can pick any color to match your landscape plan. Weeds get rooted and it is a fight to pull them. I don't like to use too much ROUNDUP as I'm afraid it may bother the nearby bushes and trees. leaves and those long skinny leaves from palm fronds really accumulate and look bad. The leaf blower only removes part of it and the rest hooks into the rock. Either ignore it or pick them out one at a time. No bugs live there.

Rubber mulch: my neighbor has that. They paint recycled tire chips any color you want. It looks like stone, but is lighter. Can blow around on a windy day. It smelled like a tire store outside when they first put it down, but that went away in about 6 months. Same cosmetic problems as rock.

Considering the lower price of wood chips I'd go with them. Although the coloring is limited, it is good for the plants and it looks as good as anything else.