"Colbyt" wrote in message ...
"Jim Butts" wrote in message
om...
I have a quarter circle garden in my front yard with one side against
my driveway and the other against the sidewalk. It contains white
rocks with a little juniper bush in the center. This garden is always
full of weeds and I'm not the type to do the work needed to keep it
weed free.

Last time I was fed up, I removed the rocks from the garden and then
laid down black matting which is supposed to block weeds. On top of
that I put mulch and then added white rocks on top. All that work did
not prevent weeds.

My thought this time is to remove the rocks and mulch and pour in
concrete - maybe 2 inches thick. Then I can put the white rocks on
top without the mulch.

I am concerned for the plant in the center. I will want to leave a
hole for the plant. My concern is that the plant would be starved if
I don't make the hole big enough. Would the plant do fine as long as
its root system can dig down under the plant or would I need to give
it some breathing room?

Jim,

I think if you remove the rocks and lay down landscape fabric, the dark gray
stuff sold everywhere, and then add the rocks on top of that you will be
fine for 5-10 years. Last time you added mulch which provided an organic
base for stuff to grow in.



I agree. Putting mulch on top of the fabric defeats the purpose. The
mulch decays into organic matter which weeds will grow in. The fabric
alone should solve the problem. If an occasional weed does sprout, a
quick spot treatment with roundup a couple times a season should fix
it. Or, as was pointed out, you could also put down a pre-emergent,
but that shouldn't be necessary.

Cement is a poor choice for a variety of reasons. Where is the rain
water going to wind up? Plus, if you decide to make landscape
changes, having concrete all over the place is going to be a real
problem, even if you just want to add a couple of bushes.