Replacing front lawn with mulch/pebbles?

[unawarek]

I have a front lawn (~9m by 8m) that's infested with weeds, and I was thinking of completely replacing the grass with either mulch or pebbles to make it low/no maintenance. The front yard slopes slightly towards the colorbond fence.

Here's what the front lawn looks like:

I'm leaning towards mulch – there's a big tree just in front of our fence which drops leaves/seed pods/twigs all the time, and IMO would look terrible on gravel. I guess it could be more "camouflaged" if they were on mulch?

Would this be a good idea/look alright?

[MitchellMc]

Hi @unawarek,

Adding mulch or pebbles would certainly do away with the weedy grassed area. As you have mentioned I believe the mulch would disguise the fallen leaves better than the pebbles. You might like to consider some additional plants or landscaping as if you remove the grass then the area will appear fairly barren. It really depends on what you want to achieve, if the ultimate goal is low/no maintenance then either applying bark or pebbles would achieve that.

You should find these articles helpful: How to plan a garden makeover and How to give your garden a makeover by @Adam_W.

We look forward to hearing more about your project and what you'll decide to go with.

Mitchell

[unawarek]

Hi Mitchell,

Thanks for the info. I was planning to maybe add some garden beds along the colorbond fence and plant some succulents there too.

If I do go down the mulch/bark route, should I be digging up the grass so that I can lay down a sufficiently thick (~5 to 10cm) of mulch?

And how would I prevent the mulch from getting out of the yard from under the front fence? Line the whole yard with some kind of edging?

[MitchellMc]

@unawarek,

You might like to consider some Matrix screening panels along that Colorbond fence as they would make a great backdrop and add some interest behind the garden beds.

It appears you would need to dig down to have the finished height of the mulch/bark flush with the pavers/gravel. Alternatively, you could continue the edging you'll need for the front around and along the paver edging in the foreground. That would stop you needing to dig down but would create a step up which is not optimal. I believe edging would be the best option for the front fenced area to retain the material.

It would be nice if you created a reason to utilise the area as well. Perhaps you could start with a timber garden arbour leading to a paved path that meanders to an outdoor setting positioned next to a succulent garden. I trust you'll find our Top 10 most popular garden makeovers and outdoor projects of great inspiration in the process.

Mitchell