Need advice
 

Five years ago I had put in a cement patio and installed rocks around. I didn't use a reputable landscaper and when the rocks were delivered, he even had to borrow my shovel. Needless to say, the rocks are spread pretty thin. I can't believe how stupid I was. The area is getting a little shabby looking, droppings from palm trees, etc. My sister, who lives in the Villages, suggested I fill-in with pine bark nuggets, they look just like my rocks, dark brown. Can I use these? I've spent so much on landscaping that I want to do things much more economically. I have a Grantham villa and I'm talking about the back, it's pretty big as Villa's go.

When I moved into my Anna Maria end unit villa, the first thing I did was tear out what grass still remained (the previous owner had put in some rock and curbing, but only out front). I priced rock and found it very costly and so rejected it, preferring to spend on other things of greater priority. I had the entire side and back areas inside the villa walls as well as the balance of the outside--front and side--filled in with dark brown mulch. There's a bit more maintenance to mulch, for example, on the outside some of it gets carried into the street during a heavy rain, so when it dries I need to take a broom to sweep it back in where it belongs. But this is no big deal. The other thing is that it's a natural product, so it will break down over a period of time, meaning you have to renew it once in a while. However, it's a plus over rock, particularly dark-colored rock, which absorbs a great deal of heat in the FL sun and is thus not great for plantings in it. Hope this helps. BTW, I don't "give advice"; I'm happy to share my experience with you which you can evaluate. If I can offer any other info, please let me know.

I believe they would float during a heavy rain. Rocks would be better.

IMHO a mixture of pine bark nuggets and rock of a similair size and color would be very interesting. Don't think you'll have a floating problem 'cause it won't be all nuggets.
Actually now that I think about it I may do just that in my front beds that are now looking shabby because the rock is starting to break down and thin out. Thanks for the idea.:ho:

Rocks would certainly not float, but I have not had a problem in the heaviest of rain other than a handful of the nuggets migrating out into the street a foot or two. As I said, I simply sweep them back when they dry out.