Can I just mulch my front gated patio?

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pjs4x4

New member
I just moved in and have a gated patio in the front. The patio is about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. About 1/6 of the patio is dirt. I want something low maintenance so I was just planning to put mulch over the dirt and call it a day.

Is this something I can do and the HOA will be okay with it? Do I need to get approval before I just put mulch down and not plant anything? If not, what are some other low maintenance things I can do and will not have to get approval from HOA?
 
pjs4x4 said:
I just moved in and have a gated patio in the front. The patio is about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. About 1/6 of the patio is dirt. I want something low maintenance so I was just planning to put mulch over the dirt and call it a day.

Is this something I can do and the HOA will be okay with it? Do I need to get approval before I just put mulch down and not plant anything? If not, what are some other low maintenance things I can do and will not have to get approval from HOA?
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You just spent hundreds of thousands on your home and want to put bags of $2 mulch in the front?

Reminds me of the FCB's who drop millions on a home and then cover their windows with bedsheets.
 
It's a small patch of dirt in relation to the total patio. Just want something I don't have to worry about.
 
Head to the garden section of a Home Depot / Lowes and have a look around. Everything is labeled with instructions on the type of care it needs. You will find a lot of inspiration just by looking. Try looking at some of the varieties of long, clumpy grass. (Don't worry, no mowing.) Some of them are really pretty, imo. Since you want easy, you could do something self-propagating like geraniums or some desert-y drought tolerant plants. If you just want to dump a bag and call it a day, you will want to do pebbles instead of mulch. You might want to put in a water fountain or at least a bird bath, for example, so it's not just a blank slate. You will get a lot of ideas just by shopping. Get more than you think you will need and return the rest.
 
If its new construction, you will have to get any and all front yard landscaping approved by the HOA before you did anything, or they can and will make you remove it at your cost and replace with something which does meet approval.

I highly doubt your HOA would approve straight out mulch in your front.

Seriously, people who don't want to take care of any landscaping should live in an attached condo where everything is done by the HOA, or better yet, an urban high rise that has no exterior space at all. (like what they're building in the Jamboree, business district areas of Irvine)
 
pjs4x4 said:
Is this something I can do and the HOA will be okay with it? Do I need to get approval before I just put mulch down and not plant anything?
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Contact your HOA for a list of pre-approved plants. Some HOAs have these ready to distribute to homeowners which makes it easy. (Not sure about yours but the HOA I work for does this. Just ask.)
 
I appreciate all the feedback. I think I may end up going with just laying down some low maintenance grass/sod.

I did not see it in my CC&Rs but does anyone know how long (typically) we have to complete the landscaping before the HOA sends notices?

 
My HOA requires homeowner to file landscaping plan within 6 month and 12 month after COE for completion. 

Or you can just man up and do a qwerty, you'll get another 12 month before completion.  :)


qwerty said:
Like I said, real men don't acknowledge hoa's  :)
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Don't do real grass, like the ones you have to mow and water like crazy.  People think because it's the cheaper way to go, couple homes in BP thought this down the Oakmont tract, some are completely dried out, others have grown out too much
 
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