Stones as mulch
 

A couple of years ago I planted a dwarf red Japanese barberry.
However, it rather fades into the dark background even though I have
it on a corner. Today I bought some 1" "pink" (white, really)
landscaping stones and they set off the shrub nicely.

After thinking about it, I'm wondering if that might not be such a
good idea after all. Will the stones reflect (or absorb and radiate)
too much heat from the sun onto the plant? I assume that would be
good in the early spring before the ground warms up much, but could it
be a problem in the summer? What about setting containers on white
stones? Would they heat up too much?

TIA.
Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!