I, too, dislike those red rocks. A plant based mulch just seems nicer and improves the soil over time. Have you tried raking the rocks maybe onto a tarp. You could maybe dig a small depression or trench, and rake the rocks onto a tarp or old sheet placed there. Here are a couple ideas of how to re-use them: make a fire pit out of them, a water feature maybe an urn or kettle set in a base of the rocks? A rock garden feature somewhere? Good luck with your project.
Laurie

I have had success with the rock garden suggestion. Sempervivum love to grow in a pile of red lava rocks.

I had a 150 ft driveway made out of that stuff. It was pretty, and a great way to give directions ("white house with the red driveway"). It broke down into the nastiest, fine grit, and we'd track it in with our shoes. It demolished the wood flooring. We ended up getting a dozen yards of river gravel (round granite and stuff) and spread it out over the top.

I'd check with the land lord, tell him you're concerned about the grit getting into the flooring surface, and ask if you can cover it all with a load of wood mulch.

Thanks for all the great ideas, you guys! This is my first experience with GardenWeb and now my mind is whirling with a wealth of good advice! I can't wait for the snow to melt so I can get to work.

I can't get rid of our lava rock, unfortunately, but I'm wondering if anyone can help me figure out how to deal with the weeds?

My husband and I just moved into a rental home with a lava rock yard in front. Not our favorite landscaping choice, but the rest of the house is nice. Landlords are not open to letting us change it, and after the first rains of the season (N. California -- East Bay) a billion weeds sprung up. I have spent a couple sessions trying to pull them by hand, but it is really impossible to get them up through those rocks (and there is some sort of black plastic tarp underneath, that is not in good shape).

Can anyone offer suggestions? I am almost 7 months pregnant, so I can't really get down there to do too much more hand weeding right now, and I'd rather not use anything horribly toxic. Landlords expect us to keep up the landscaping appearance, so we need to do something soon.

Thank you!!

Fill a sprayer with straight vinegar and a few drops of cheap dishsoap and a table spoon or so of vegetable oil. Shake then spray your weeds. Twice should do it. Use corn meal over the area to help prevent any more weeds coming up. You will get some success with this, sometimes works great, sometimes not so great depends on amounts of moisture, dew, and amounts of weeds. Good luck TiMo

Thank you! I'll give the vinegar a try.