DIY Pebble Garden
Designing a pebble garden is an enjoyable experience. Pebble gardens are popular all over the world, but are especially beautiful in Italy where vast areas are intricately landscaped in pleasing patterns and geometric designs with polished pebbles of different sizes and colors. Meandering walkways, shallow streams of sparkling water and an array of flowering plants and trees grace the peaceful surroundings. The do-it-yourself designer can add a wrought-iron bench, a pergola or a trellis with a bounty of colorful flowers. A pebble garden is a low-maintenance garden after installation. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Railroad ties
- Shovel
- Soil tiller
- Weed barrier cloth
- Sand
- Pea gravel
- Plastic garden border strips
- Colored pebbles
- Bench
- Fire pit or bird fountain
- Plants, bushes
- Trellis
Instructions
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1
Place the pebble garden in an area that has enough space to incorporate the desired pebble designs as well as garden furniture or structures such as trellises, fountains or a pergola. The location should be out of the normal traffic pattern and have some room nearby to expand into if desired.
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2
Wall in the pebble garden with railroad ties tightly placed end to end that are sunk 2 inches into the ground. This is necessary to contain the pebbles within the garden and help maintain the designs.
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3
Till the soil in the garden with the tiller if the soil is hardened and resists draining. Good drainage for the garden is very important. Lay down weed barrier cloth.
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4
Fill the garden with 1 inch of sand from wall to wall, using a shovel, and add 2 inches of pea gravel.
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5
Place plastic garden border strips to fill in a circular area measuring 6 by 6 feet in one corner of the garden that offers some privacy while providing a good view of the garden itself. Use colored pebbles of the same size that stand out dramatically from the pea gravel to fill the area in to a depth of 1 inch. Place a bench made of stone or wrought iron in the center of the circle. Install a fire pit or bird fountain near the bench.
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Lay down a 2-foot-wide path that meanders through the garden from the entry point to the bench. Line the path with plastic garden border strips and fill it in with colored pebbles of the same size to a depth of 2 inches. Line the path with solar lights or larger stones of the same type and color.
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7
Install an arched trellis with flowering plants at the entry to the path.
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8
Add plants such as hen and chicks or ice plants in highly visible areas to provide color. Dig through the gravel and plant succulents, rose bushes or even small trees in the garden, then spread the gravel over the root system.
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Create several pleasing designs to fit specific areas within the garden and fill them in with different colors and sizes of pebbles to a depth of 1 inch.
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Tips & Warnings
Design the pebble garden to be any size or shape desired. Some pebble gardens are as small as 6 feet in diameter and are intended to simply be a peaceful place to please the eye.
Have a friend assist in handling the heavy railroad ties.
It is critical to provide an adequate weed and grass barrier when the garden is built because treating weeds and grass afterward is very difficult.
