We've planted "green mulch" ground covers. I like creeping thyme, just because the deer don't eat it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is mulch a fire hazard?

Wood burns. Stone doesn't burn.

Funnel how I’ve never seen flaming beds of mulch.

The videos from California are all over the internet it is funny how you missed that

Anonymous wrote:Don’t do stone. It looks ugly and gets really hot, burning plants.
I’ve known people who’ve done rubber mulch, once and done. I’ve also known people who did cocoa shells.
Shredded leaves or pine needles are free and nice.
The absolute best choice is to do none of the above, and grow a ground cover. No need for mulch of any kind. Bare soil and ground cover.

I did a reddish gravel stone one time. And yeah...it got really hot, was an enormous PITA to weed, and didn't look good.

Don’t do stone. It looks ugly and gets really hot, burning plants.
I’ve known people who’ve done rubber mulch, once and done. I’ve also known people who did cocoa shells.
Shredded leaves or pine needles are free and nice.
The absolute best choice is to do none of the above, and grow a ground cover. No need for mulch of any kind. Bare soil and ground cover.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is mulch a fire hazard?

Wood burns. Stone doesn't burn.

Funnel how I’ve never seen flaming beds of mulch.

Dp. It's not a big hazard in the DMV. Out West, where the weather is dry, mulch can be a hazard.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you everyone. I think I need to reach out to some landscape designers that can help me understand what native plants and ground cover to use that will still be acceptable in our very 90s HOA neighborhood

Do you have shade or sun? All of the following look tidy and shouldn't make your HOA freak out.

If shade, Christmas ferns, native hydrangeas, native azaleas, native rhododendron. Native columbine (red and white petals), mayapples, Indian pinks.

Sun, black eyed Susans , cone flowers. Non native but low maintenance: lavender, and rosemary and peonies.

Sun:

If you do have bare spots between plants you do need mulch, however--it makes a huge difference both in the summer, for reducing watering requirements, and in the winter, for protecting roots. Having 3 inches of mulch instead of 1 inch will result in healthier shrubs. That's not landscaper talk, that is basic horticulture.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you everyone. I think I need to reach out to some landscape designers that can help me understand what native plants and ground cover to use that will still be acceptable in our very 90s HOA neighborhood

What county are you in?
PG Audubon has a free program where they come and give you feedback on your yard to transition it to a native plant and more nature friendly habitat. We used it this spring and I am implementing a few steps this year. In the hopes of transitioning our yard to a more colorful less sterile pollinator friendly space.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is mulch a fire hazard?

Wood burns. Stone doesn't burn.

Funnel how I’ve never seen flaming beds of mulch.

Happens all the time in my dreams... neighbors tossing their burning cigars in my mulch beds.

I have been throwing clover seeds on whatever remains of my lawn and I have patches of clover everywhere. I have wood sorrel, false strawberry, chickweed, purslane etc in my lawn and it attracts a lot of pollinators.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is mulch a fire hazard?

Wood burns. Stone doesn't burn.

Funnel how I’ve never seen flaming beds of mulch.

Anonymous wrote:How is mulch a fire hazard?

Wood burns. Stone doesn't burn.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you everyone. I think I need to reach out to some landscape designers that can help me understand what native plants and ground cover to use that will still be acceptable in our very 90s HOA neighborhood

One reason I will never live with an HOA. I live in a wealthy Bethesda area where we all do our own thing, and it's really nice to see individual expressions.

So kind of you to grace us peons with your wisdom.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thank you everyone. I think I need to reach out to some landscape designers that can help me understand what native plants and ground cover to use that will still be acceptable in our very 90s HOA neighborhood

One reason I will never live with an HOA. I live in a wealthy Bethesda area where we all do our own thing, and it's really nice to see individual expressions.

OP here, thank you everyone. I think I need to reach out to some landscape designers that can help me understand what native plants and ground cover to use that will still be acceptable in our very 90s HOA neighborhood