I would offer them another choice that doesn't include rock of any sort or color!!

What's "more of a short garden?" Are they talking about narrow foundation beds covered in dyed rock mulch? If so that's too bad, because (apart from how dyed lava looks) really what that somewhat grandiose, geometrically symmetric house facade needs is a matching formal garden that comes out farther from the house than the beds that are there now.

And a rectilinear entrance path instead of a curved one.

Is that all that they are doing? I think we're just wondering why they're not using mulch instead. lava rock doesn't add to the soil and it's difficult to weed

Back! Back! Where are the garlic and crosses? Retreat vile being!

Neither. Plus, lava rocks do not coordinate with the style of their house.

I don't know what a short garden is. I have seen bull rocks or black river rocks used well as accents in landscapes.

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Lava rock is terrible.

I like Black Mulch or Black Rubber Mulch Makes a nice bed.

Sorry, I can’t get my head around rubber mulch at all.

The point of using rocks in a naturalistic landscape is to make them look like they were found there. Lava rocks won't work here. Hawaii, yes, this house, no.

In a geometric landscape that uses plants as coloring material, white broken bits of quartz, smooth river pebbles and black lava rock are sometimes used for contrast and definition. That's not what I imagine the new landscape design includes.

I spent two years digging out rock that was used as mulch and had sunk as much as 8" into the ground before I could plant up my day lily bed. My landscape professor advised natural cypress mulch as the most beneficial and insect repellent to use.

Voting late but still, voting for wood-based mulch. I think people use rock with the perception that it will bring lower maintenance, and for a while it will. But that will end and the rocks are very difficult to undo. Many people are very happy with things they buy ... until they start using them. That's one reason there are garage sales.

Lisa, I am in California and we don't use the term short garden here. Can you tell me what it is?

Adding color to "natural" elements ALWAYS looks BAAAAD. See the dk mulch above!! Rock has its place. Mulch is IMPOSSIBLE if one has leaves to removed each fall 'enrich the soil' is a bit of an over statement considering the products sold. You would have to show me the rock for me to decide which has the least offensive dye added to it. Why lava rock? That is a less formal rock and the home pictured is very formal.

Lava rock went out of style in the 80s. That recommendation is only acceptable IF the landscape designer looks like Tom Selleck at his best. Then I'll accept it.

I think their landscaper needs to get with the times no one uses lava rock anymore.

Other than the giant green junipers (?), I don't mind their yard. Where those originally spirals? When my father the landscape king died, we got my mother a lawn service.

Lovely home, a large part of the curb appeal is the mature landscaping. Remove the two hugely overgrown shrubs and the weird mini-tree that obscures the view of the door. Find a lawn service that knows how to properly maintain (prune) the other existing shrubs which have been butchered. Engage an Pro with a college degree in Landscape Architecture (BLA / BSLA / MSLA). They don't have to be located near you, he/she would work in conjunction with a local plant nursery to obtain the necessary site info to produce a plan. Mother Nature has a special place in hell for so-called "landscape designers" who suggest lava rock / decomposed granite etc.

It may seem like an overrreaction, but I'd reject buying a home that had lava rock in the landscaping. Not only are they impossible to remove, but impossible to keep the bed clean. Leaves get wet and stick to the rocks, weeds grow in between.

"Mother Nature has a special place in hell for so-called "landscape designers". "

Excuse me???? That is an incredibly egregious statement and makes me wonder what the hell kind of design backgound you have!! Many landscape designers are very skilled and experienced and are fully able to develop a comprehensive and well-thought out landscape design for any property. Many have design degrees as well.

Landscape architects do not hold a monopoly on design skills. And most do not work on average residential properties anyway - they are seldom projects large enough to involve an LA, whose work tends to focus on commercial or larger municipal projects and charge high fees commensurate with that type of work. Those that do work on smaller residential properties are no better or more skilled than most landscape designers.

btw, very few colleges or universities that offer degrees in landscape architecture provide classes in horticulture or even plant identification. What does that tell you...........?

And no designer worth their salt - LA or otherwise - would develop a decent landscape design plan just based on secondhand site information passed on by a nursery or even the homeowner. An onsite visit is a basic requirement!!

It is my opinon you have no idea what you are talking about!!

Woah, back the truck up. Did you read the entire sentence? Mother Nature has a special place in hell for so-called "landscape designers" who suggest lava rock / decomposed granite etc.

You are taking offense when none was given.

Then the comment was later edited. I copied exactly what was stated at the time in my response.

And I do believe that was the intent anyway, as the comment focused on picking a college educated Landscape Architect.......as if a landscape designer just didn't have the skill set.

Rubber mulch is made from toxic used car tires and black cobbles are obtained by mining and destroying beaches.

I think sometimes people working for landscape companies who just want to sell plants call themselves designers when they aren't. Perhaps that's what the poster meant as opposed to landscape designers aren't as good as Landscape Architects when they actually fill two different niche.

^^^ That's how I interpreted it.

Wow! As in all things, some people have natural talent while others do not. It is possible to get an excellent kitchen design from a Big Box employee...possible, but it's a crap shoot. The same can be said for landscape designers, there are many good ones who don't hold a college degree. The whole point of a selecting someone with a college degree in Landscape Design, or a Certification in Kitchen Design, is the increase in the odds of obtaining a good result. Apologies to anyone who was insulted.

How about a suggestion that is helpful, and answers the poster's question, instead of everyone assuming things that the poster has not said? There is a reason why it's such a specific question, after all. IF they absolutely want to go with lava rock, why don't you put down a large piece of landscape fabric, place black rock on one side of the house, red on the other, and see which one you prefer? Put the rock on the landscape fabric to make it easier to remove when you've made your decision.

When installing the rock, whatever type it is - lava or pea gravel or river -- you should put a layer of landscape fabric underneath it. It provides drainage while preventing weeds and sinking of the rocks. Don't just put the rock on top of the ground and hope for the best if you don't want the yard to look like a forest in six months.

It is helpful because it can keep them from making a bad decision. Most people comment from experience.

Folks have made the comments they have because rock is just not a very desirable mulch for any number of reasons. It IS hard to maintain, allows for weed development even if used with a landscape fabric and those weeds tend to be harder to remove, it can heat up in summer sun and 'cook' the roots and tender foliage of plants not accustomed to those conditions and adds nothing to soil quality, as any decent organic mulch will. And lava rock just doesn't look natural or that it 'belongs' in anything other than a very arid or desert setting or where it is found naturally.

IMO, it is totally inappropriate in this setting.

Lisa thank you for explaining the short garden.

I would not use any rock as a top layer and if I was forced to do so lava rock would be my last choice. River rock is better looking in my opinion. It looks like others have described why it is not a good idea so I will just say I agree with their reasons. There is even a new term in landscaping, it is called gravel regret.

I don't know how your parents found their designer or how skilled he is. For all I know it may be your parents who suggested lava rock. If they are determined to have it, black would be my choice.

Even if your parents were young and agile I would still like to see the tall shrubs removed. It is not a good look. To make things even easier they could remove the sheared shrubs. The house is so nice, it does not need dressing up and I think ground cover and a few other plants would be all that they need.

If you find it is the designer who suggested lava rock then I think you should examine the whole design. You can not have faith in a designer who would make such a suggestion.

If they lived in the desert then maybe lava rocks would be appropriate. I would not put them with a colonial home! That will look laughable.

I don't mean this in an unkind way, but my career as a horticultural and arboricultural consultant was built on the fact that the vast majority of degreed landscape architects didn't know a darned thing about plants. This was in a high end market, which made it particularly disturbing. The ones that did were amazing, but few and far between.

Landscape fabric.....no, just no. And rubber mulch leaches toxins into the soil as it disintegrates over time. It also has a very disagreeable odor, unless one likes the smell of tires.

Lisa I'm guessing your parents are 70-80? I think it's possible that they have been given black or red lava rocks as an option because they specifically requested lava rocks because lava rocks are what was super popular during the years when they were establishing their household. It's what they know, so it's what they asked for.

Would they be open to having you show them some photos of similar beautiful homes with more formal (and stylistically appropriate) landscaping options?

Answering your question directly, as I think you'd like an actual reply. If it has to be lava rock, I'd go with red, which isn't bright red but more of an orangey-russet. I think a yard full of black rock would look dreadful, gloomy. I hope the landscaper has plans for some natural greenery among the rocks!

There was lava rock in our front yard when we bought our house - it didn't deter us at all. We lived with it for many, many years while we worked on the interior of our fixer-upper. We found it to be very easy to care for. In fact, there was no care involved. If the rare weed appeared I hit it with hot water or vinegar. When we began landscaping the yard with the help of a professional, the lava rock was easy to remove. A baby 'dozer did it quickly. Of course, if you want to do it by hand, that will not be fun. Hire a local teenager to do the work!

"We lived with it for many, many years while we worked on the interior of our fixer-upper."

This sentence perfectly illustrates the problem with lava rock: it's something to *live with* in a fixer-upper. Not something to deliberately add to a beautiful, stately home.