Question
I am a new homeowner (less than 3 months) and have no experience with gardening. I got so tired of looking at miscellaneous plants and weeds sprouting up in my flower garden, I just dug them all up until I can figure out what to do with this area.

In the meantime, I would like to simply place rocks on top of the area, which rests against the front of my house (brick). The garden area is lined with rounded red bricks. I realize this will take away from curb appeal for the time being(although shrubs still remain to the left and right of the garden). But until I become more knowledgeable on how to select, plant and maintain a flower garden, it's the only solution I can think of.

My questions are as follows:

1) Do you have any suggestions on the type of rocks I can use? I wanted something light in color but also rocks that don't fly away with the slightest gust of wind.

2) Also, should I place something under the rocks and replace some of the soil that also got dug up?

3)And finally, what do I do with the old plants and soil that I dug up?

Any advice you can give to this freshman homeowner would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hello Renita,

I would suggest river rock. It comes in a variety of sizes up to 5-6". They also come in a variety of colors.

Place landscape fabric down first before you put down the rock, it will keep weeds from running rampid.

If the old plants still look plantable put the in containers until you find a place for them.

Hope this helped.

Bud Christmann