I started years ago with pine bark, but found it big and clunky. Then, for years, I used cedar because of the beautiful natural golden color and it being shredded.

Then red was on sale and guaranteed to hold the color longer. I also was told it wasn't inviting to termites when you use it around the house. So I have red everywhere.

Now, cedar was a great deal and I went back to that in a new bedding area. I think I am going back to cedar in all of my other areas as well. I also saw black but can't see using that unless I wanted it to look like dirt? (is that the idea for black?)

Just wondering about the preference of others......

dl

I'm not much into gardening and landscaping but it is my husband's passion. He started using the black a couple of years ago and now won't use anything else. It makes all the flowers and shrubbery stand out in contrast to the dark color. Very classy look.

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We used to use pecan shells...they look great, very different and last a long time.

However, the thing most people use around here now is the very dark...not sure if it's black, but it's very close to it if it's not. We've been using it for 4 years now and love the look - especially when it's fresh.

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

I used to use nothing but black with my old house. It was a white house, with a black roof, and the black mulch was gorgeous against the house and the landscaping really popped.

With this house (red brick, dark brown roof) we are going to use a very dark chocolate brown. I think I will still get the dramatic look we got at the old house, but the brown will look better with the house. Plus, living in the south, now, I don't think black is the best option.

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Yeah, DH uses the black around our waterfall and the black does make the flowers really "pop".

I guess I'm the odd man out. I only like natural looking color ~ plain old brown. I hate the red and have never seen black that I liked on the surroundings. The places you discribe sound very nice....too bad I can't drive by and have a look for myself. We can't buy pecan shells around here, but they sound like a good idea.

We have a white colonial with black roof and shutters, and red brick around the foundation and up 1/4 the way on the garage. When we originally built I had brown double ground mulch, but about 3 years ago switched to the black died double ground and like it a lot better! It just sets the house off, we think.

I don't like any of the "colors".They look fake and cheap to me. I like good old brown. But..then....I like stuff more natural. I don't trim my shrubs into perfect squares or balls. To me- that is for Disney or an English garden...not in a subdivision yard.

You would hate the shrubbery around the front of my house. It is English Boxwood and they are round. I shape them at least two times a season. I like to see well manicured landscaping and edged lawns in the suburbs. Otherwise I think it looks too wild and rural. Interesting how different we look at landscaping.

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We have red right now, but will likely change it to black next time. I just want to give it a shot. We just bought a new house and I hate the front landscaping - just wild-looking shrubs. No thanks. As soon as we get the inside in a little better order, I am going to pull those out and do something a little more defined.

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Kim