This is actually an interesting opportunity for you to delve into the differences between functionality and taste, because it applies not to just the gravel questions (of which there are many) but also plant choices, plant location choices and other issues. You "love the white rocks", so that's a visual impact/connection you have. Maybe you can dissect that even further to help see if you actually love the white rocks, or maybe some more fundamental aspect of it--is it that you think it looks tidy, looks like it might be low maintenance, do you just like rocks, or do you have some color combination or contrast that you're trying to achieve. Functionality would be that there would be some garden/landscape situations in which a rock product--gravel, stones--would achieve an important goal that could not be accomplished by another product. There are some of these situations in landscaping. However, you will find that they are fairly few, in part because rock creates limitations or barriers to other important goals. So, some of the above posts are aimed at identifying the purposes of putting something "on" your garden areas, and see how the rock will or will not accomplish that--such as, if you have leaves and debris falling, your white rocks will get messy and grow weeds and be difficult to maintain, and in the meantime you will not be able to add compost or degradable mulch to improve the soil (a common important goal for most gardeners) whereas these organic "mulches" serve several purposes. Then there is the aspect of color. This aspect can be viewed separately, because first you would decide functionally whether rock/gravel is a good choice (for any purpose--as a mulch, as a pathway material, as a patio material, etc), and then color would be secondary, because there are color choices (and size, and contour). I mostly can't stand white rocks, and I think it's fair to say I have not found any situations in which that appeals to me. However, I believe that is a personal taste issue, and so while we can debate whether my taste is better than someone else's, that is still a sort of style or culture thing that might change over time or in different venues. But almost hidden in my own reactions, are that most of the time white rocks are used in situations where rock itself is a bad functional choice. I have seen a number of photos of arid climate landscapes using rock and gravel in a really cool way. But the ones I like are always in some kind of natural tone. That way the discussion can be more focused on, man, just not the WHITE rocks, vs. whether any rocks are right for the location in question--the same way one might determine, yeah, foliage here is good, but that purple just disappears next to your house color, or that chartreuse clashes, or whatever. Others may have tired of the story of Frankie's white gravel wasteland, but I still have an area of white gravel in a sideyard. I've removed a lot of it and substituted some gray (now aged-color)pavers and some soil planting beds. I had 2 main problems--the wrong functionality and the wrong color. What's interesting is that now that I've reworked some of the area, I can honestly say that my biggest problem now is the color--I hate the white contrast with the other more aged,natural items and plantings I have and desire. But because I have been building in some other functionalities--places to grow soothing shrubs and ferns; a stable sitting patio; and have reduced the remaining gravel to areas in which gravel has some fair funcionality-- the necessary pathways to and from somewhere, or restful contrast to the planted areas--easy to rake--and because I have learned the functionality and maintenance tradeoffs between the problems of gravel vs. planted area(did I mention that all of this area is tightly fenced in and below large oak trees, so there's not the option of simple mow & blow maintenance) I would now have a sitation in which I so wish it were a natural color gravel, since pretty soon I might feel like I could just leave a lot of it as-is and have a nice area. But, it would be too weird (I think) to actually replace my white gravel with a ton of natural gravel. If we get back to color, and you find that you like something about white itself that appeals to you in your curb appeal concept, that opens your options up to seeing whether something else white would serve the same purpose.

I have used washed river stone since 1983 never had a complaint about cost damn near for free! didn't like the weight issue but everything has a con I used ebb and flow systems with great success I did occasionally have root clogging issues as I always had used metal screen or hardware cloth and zip ties to anchor it to fill and drain tubes (back when I used old school e&b systems) I now use a single feed drain bucket controller system with cloth composition grow bags as a liner in my grow pots (bags similar to smart pots) and that keeps the roots in check so they cannot penetrate the mesh baskets in square type inserts in square 4 gal. buckets when you first start out the ph gets a little drifty but will straighten out in a day or two and you are off to vegging all is reusable and I like that as on my budget I cant see putting any one other than myself through college due to cost of grow mediums luckily I have many gravel pits around me that screen gravel yielding the river bed stone and for a buck or two I can load up a ton if I want but you can get it at home depot or lowes for around four bucks a bag at 0.5 cu ft. and with a little patience and labor you can use it for about as long as it is old give or take a million years and the bags you will get a few uses out of but they are only three bucks a piece pretty negligible for what you get in return product so I hope I kept on topic best of luck to all happy growing! from backwoodbill!

Can anyone tell me what colors were used to paint this house? I know the siding is a James Hardie Siding product. Thanks!

It's tough to find photo examples of paint colors that coordinate with natural wood trim. I want to update/refresh my home with the wood trim in tact. I haven't done a lot of decorating since moving into my house. It's a slow processes trying to hone a style on a tight budget. I know most articles on choosing paint colors suggest having other decor in place before choosing paint, but it will likely take us years to get there, and I feel painting is an affordable step we can take right now that will help us improve the feel of our space. I'm going for an updated look that meshes well with historic elements in the home, such as the wood trim, wood floors, and original antique silver-colored radiators. Original wood work is american chestnut so it's not super dark and has a variety of red and orange undertones. My furniture is a mix of antiques and custom Amish-made pieces. My decorating style is somewhat eclectic with a mix of bohemian, equestrian and subtle gothic elements. There will be custom paintings of dragons, crows, horses and unicorns, but nothing girly. Paintings and decor will have a dangerous or creepy vibe. I intend to keep the blue/gray/green antique wall paper in the powder room, and in various closets throughout the house. Stained glass will be used for privacy on select windows. Thus far, I have chosen Sherwin Williams Needlepoint Navy for the living room, Chelsea Gray for the kitchen and dinging room, and Jade Dragon for the foyer. There is currently a green very similar to the Jade Dragon in the foyer. It looks great with the trim and the gray/green tile throughout the foyer, kitchen and mud room. It blends with the tile and really brings out the red in the trim. All the other walls are a neutral cream color that looks very yellow at night in artificial light. I hate it and want to cool that down. The paint chips look good against my trim in afternoon and evening light. I will try in morning light tomorrow... but I'm still nervous about how they will look in full on the wall. I'll paint test swatches before making a final decision. Do you guys think these colors would work together? These rooms are all connected and have sight lines to each other so need to work together. Any other color suggestions? I'll need more than 3 colors for a whole house scheme. I think the Chelsea gray might carry well up the stairs and into the upstairs hall. I'm thinking I'll start on the first floor and then work my way up and down the stairs to the other floors. Does anyone have examples of these colors in action? If you have wood trim, what colors work well on your walls?