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Landscape Design Pennsylvania Gardening Lawn Care

Should I get rid of plant beds around my house?

9 months ago

I have a house that is surrounded on all sides with plant beds (with bushes, perennials etc). However, I have found maintenance to be extremely tedious with all the weeding that needs to be done. I also have found lots of ants around the foundation of my house which seem to really like the mulch that I paid a lot to be put down. I am wondering if it would be worth it to have the mulch and plants within these plant beds removed and have it planted with grass? I am new to [single family] home ownership and am wondering if this would be costly and if there are advantages to having these plant beds that I am not considering.

Thanks

Featured Answer

floraluk2

6 months ago

Please don't even think of using ground cover cloth. That will only make your troubles far worse.

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Comments (6)

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HALLETT & Co.
9 months ago
Posting photos would get you advice regarding the aesthetics of having plants against your house (it sounds like you have so called foundation plants). Honestly I don’t like plants crammed against a house- the soil is usually terrible, they don’t get watered, and they tend to not work aesthetically. I like my beds away from my house on the property line to create privacy. I also enjoy gardening and privacy so… I loathe maintaining a lawn and much prefer pulling weeds versus pushing a lawnmower. We are all different.
kitasei2
9 months ago
Dont worry about ants yet.Predators will discover them quickly. If they come inside, use Terminix bait which will kill their nests. Your garden borders can orobably be simplified. Show them to us.
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cecily 7A
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Is your neighborhood governed by an HOA? My HOA requires planting beds in front of the house but the other three sides can be bare. The soil beside a house under the eaves is dry and grass may not grow well there. Termites are a problem in my area so we place river rock along the foundation instead of mulch.
plays inthedirt
6 months ago
I don't know how much area you're talking about, but I would think that getting rid of all the plantings could be really pricey & new grass might not look the same as the rest of the lawn for a long time. Your perennials could be surrounded by ground cloth to deter weeds & covered by the mulch. If you are new to the area you might want to look around at what other folks have done in your area & see what you like. Another resource if you have questions about a certain plant is your state extention office-free advice from your county office.
KR KNuttle
6 months ago
last modified: 6 months ago
As recommended learn about taking care of your yard from the local agricultural agent or equivalent. What works in Texas may not work in your area.

As for ants. Any active natural environment will have bugs, frogs, snakes, and many different types of animals insects, and birds. We did not know we had opossums, foxes, and coyotes until we got our trail camera. We have a butterfly garden so we have several types of caterpillars.

If the ants get to be a problem go down to the Lowes and buy a bag of insecticide and apply in the area where they area a problem.

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