My home was finished last Fall, and the landscaping was put in by the builder. They planted shrubs, and covered the topsoil with a layer of bark. It looked (looks) quite nice.

But now that the winter has passed, the bark is starting to look... well, decomposed and not so pretty any more. I know bark doesn't last forever, and I would like to remove ALL of it and just lay down compost.

Do you know if Daybreak requires bark? Are they okay with well-maintained compost instead? Have any of you removed your bark? I'm really over the whole bark thing.

I haven't removed our bark yet but there are options, including rock! I still need to get over to the HOA office but evidently they have samples of everything that is approved. Would be worth a stop over there. I'm over the bark too... especially the bark that isn't maintained (evidently many homeowners do not realize that bark requires yearly maintenance and 5 years later still have done nothing!). I've seen some pretty shoddy things too, like a nieghbor who actually spray painted their old bark. Funny but hideous! They should've at least bought a few more cans to make sure it didn't look like someone graffited their entire yard!

OMG! They actually spray painted the bark?! That's insane!

I wonder if one of the *approved* things is compost? I'm hoping a ground cover isn't required.

Lol, yes, spray paint. We couldn't figure out why the bark looked so funny until we looked closely at it and it was quite evident what they had done as they missed many spots. I don't know what would possess anybody to spray paint their bark but to each their own. I always thought it would be cheaper to just replace it since bark isn't that expensive!
From what I could find on the livedaybreak site, you can have bark, mulch, gravel, pebbles or rock (i.e. dirt must be covered) but you have to submit a design application for anything other than bark to make sure the material meets their requirements.

By the way, Jenny, I think you live only a few blocks from me...

JustMe wrote:

QUOTE:
By the way, Jenny, I think you live only a few blocks from me...

Really? Do you live on Millerton?