When I bought my house it had a rose growing against a side of the house.
The ground around the rose seems to have been covered with black plastic
under white rocks. Not all that attractive, IMHO, especially since some of
the rocks have "escaped" and the ripped plastic is now showing through. I'd
like to replace the whole lot. Does anyone have any recommendations for
what I should use around the base of the rose? Plain mulch? Newspaper
under plain mulch? Something else entirely? Or is the plastic under rock
the preferred method and I should just replace it with more? I'm not a
gardner at all and have no idea what I'm doing so any advice is much
appreciated! I'm not sure it matters but I'm in zone 6a.

Thanks a lot,
LauraJ