[sleepy]

thats extruded plastic "benda board" If it dosent get too hot during instalation your ok before its buried with sod and mulch. I dont know how it does in a freeze we dont have that here.
http://www.epicplastics.com/
ohh yes that permanent!! it looks like terra cotta after the sun fades it after years. Waker mowers can whack it full on and it wont budge.

[Raj Venugopal]

"Gee Raj, I can't figure out why my hydrangeas aren't doing well.

"The company (one of the biggest in our neck of the woods) installed them and put fabric down too."

Here's a laugh...(pulled it all out...). Anyone see this lack of planting technique before?

[sleepy]

well thats just sadd. I dont think the fabric was the problem lol

[Raj Venugopal]

Nasty eh?

We see this a lot, believe it or not!

[sleepy]

see all the dirt ontop of the fabric? Major no no. I like to cut circles around the base of plants like 6" to a foot, so the stalk has room to grow also so you can scratch in ferts down the road. Its weeding around the base of the plant but thats no biggie.

[waterfall larry]

Being from Atlanta where we have warm season grasses like bermuda and zoysia that grow by runners, I keep a 1 foot square hunk of bermuda infested landscape fabric on hand to show customers that landscape fabric doesn't work. When they look at it and can barely see the fabric, the discussion ends quickly.

Fusilade rules.

Because I like vegetable gardening. I use my grass clippings to mulch my vegetable garden and flower garden. I promise you NOTHING grows through grass clippings kept mulched at 6 inches, not even ivy. Sure it isn't industry standard mulch or pine straw, but if you have a couple of hours call me and I will tell you about the advantages and benefits.

20 inches of the purest richest loosest most crumbly high nutrient moist top soil there is baby

hey bown is brown

[sleepy]

Sounds like you read ruth stouts' book
I love grass mulch at home here.
Running grasses cant go through properly installed bender board. I think of it as a landscape system.

[Grubbworm]

So how are most of you guys starting new beds where there is presently grass/weeds/bare dirt next to houses? I always start by spraying roundup; wait until dry's (can do edging, etc while drying); then, plant, fabric ? and mulch.

[TrickyDick]

Strip sod or weeds, amend soil, till, rake, plant, mulch. Or if round-up instead of strip.

[average joe]

Here in New Mexico gravel is much preferred by homeowners to bark mulch. It's pretty common to replace entire lawns with gravel. When we do we put down some quality Dewitt weed barrier and then spread the gravel. I think it's great stuff. Installing gravel without weed barrier is a waste of time. Unless you like the look of weeds and grass growing through your yard.

And as far as "if you've ever had to replace it, you'd never install it", we've replaced entire front yards that were graveled. They had shoddy black plastic which tore (of course) so we raked out the gravel, pulled out the old plastic, laid new Dewitt and spread the gravel again. It was a lot of work, but so what? The customers pay for it.