I hope this is the right place to post this.

We've been in our first home for about a year now and we're trying to figure out if this little stone layer is necessary.

My husband says it's for drainage and to keep dirt from getting between the larger stones but the layer of small stones is only about 2" thick. Under it is a layer of landscaping cloth and then dirt. I'd love to get rid of it (grass/weeds grow in the rocks and it's difficult to remove) or replace with mulch so I can plant flowers there.

The large stones are a 1' tall border around our sunk in patio.