I personally hate pine straw mulch (just my preference). But, I thought for sure that having dyed wood mulch near the bottom of my home's foundation was a big no-no with my cedar siding. Per David, not the case! I got the all-clear from him that having wood mulch is ok as long as it's not so tall that it covers the foundation gap I mentioned earlier (double-check with your homeowner's insurance policy though, because they sometimes have rules on this too).