I do have clients that put a 1-2' border around their entire house of concrete or rock. It's mostly personal opinion. Some homes never get hit with termites some homes do. Yes termites like mulch but what often happens is you spray for termites and they go to someone else's house then they spray and the termites wander around to find a new home and if your home is not treated for termites..fertile ground. Treating lumber is a good way to make it less interesting to termites. Also if you keep your soil below the top of your foundation by a few inches it gives less access for the bugs.

A border of drain rock or river rock right alongside of the house foundation makes very good sense if you live in an area that has termites. It will not guarantee they won't invade the house, but it will not make it more hospitable for them to do so, like the mulch would. You'd want to make the border at least the width of any roof overhang or eaves. And this is seldom a good place to plant anyway, as it is too close to the house as well as being sheltered from rainfall.

Something like this: gravel splash strip

garden web photos · More Info

And IMO, you always want to mulch after planting :-)

If you have more questions of this nature, try posting in the New to Gardening forum, as these questions are not really design related.

I am planning to plant some flowers such as tulips that will show up in the spring. Will they come through the mulch? Or should I make an open area where they are buried?

Bulbs will easily grow through mulch.....just like they grow up through the soil to produce foliage and flowers :-))

That said, I had termite issues and I kept all natural materisl well away from my house. Still can plant by house, you want room to walk around there anyway, to keep an eye on things. Plants and mulch up against house hold moisture in wet climates. You want good air circulation.

Well, here's what I've done so far. I planted some tulips, and planting to put a couple of plants in this area soon.

Also, any ideas what I can put under the bay window? I started with fresh soil and tulips, but I am taking it all out now since I found out I needed a moister barrier. I thought about decorative rocks?

Looks like you've done a lot of work so far! A bed that is intended to hold any plantings should be at least 3 feet deep. Is that mulch bed 3 feet?

If you were thinking of some low plantings under the bay window, why don't you extend the bed out so its edge is even with the corner of your sidewalk (in the last picture you posted)? Then you'd have room. And swoop the bed around the corner so your rain gutter is included inside the bed. That would save you a lot of grass trimming trouble.

Pardon my laughably poor drawing:

That's a good idea, but my only issues are the cable/fiber/telephone lines that are buried coming to the corner of the house. I'm afraid to it something if I were to dig. The bed on the side of my house is close to a foot deep. I've read on the net it should be around 8-12 inches.

Call to have your utility lines marked before you dig. Then you can avoid the lines by not planting anything over them. Nonetheless, it won't hurt anything to lay mulch or gravel over them.

By "deep," I mean measured from the house out to the front edge of the bed. Not "deep" as in digging DOWN. Is that what you meant?

then I'm right in the money for 3ft from the house to the edge of the bed. Picked up some plants from Home Depot that's supposed to last year around. I will put them in the new garden bed area. I will probably explore your idea of extending the garden bed this weekend.

depth of bed that is usually talked about is front to back, not vertical depth of soil.

You have to explore in areas where vulnerable lines are buried, very carefully so as not to cut them. Once they're found, work can proceed at a faster pace.