I may be over thinking things, but I was wondering what a good ground cover would be under the hives. Right now I have the hives on a bench extended inside a trellised arbor over bare ground. It is in a suburban community were people expect you to keep you grass cut down to a certain length.
So I was wondering, with the thought of air drainage, holding humidity, and weed control, what would be good solutions? Oh, it needs to look nice, too

. What is everyone else doing, if anything?
I've considered a landscaping fabric covering all the area I wish with a gravel on top. I thought of plastic covered with mulch first, but am afraid it would hold to much moisture and cause a humidity problem. Concrete would be very low maintenance, easy to clean, but more permanent than I would like, plus it may radiate alot of heat and cause more problems.
Thanks for the input, John