Gravel Landscaping Ideas
Durable gravel offers the landscape a more organic look like many other hardscaping materials, including brick or paving. It’s also suitable for almost any type of yard, whether casual American, formal English, Southwestern or Italian. Gravel can also make yard work easier, covering large areas where plants and grass aren’t wanted, and offering some weed control where it’s laid down. To top it off, gravel is also budget friendly—and versatile. Does this Spark an idea?
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Pathways
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Gravel makes an easy and inexpensive pathway. It helps keep down weed growth and won’t get muddy during rainy weather. It’s also easy to move. If the garden landscape changes, just shovel up the gravel and move it to a new pathway.
With Stones
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Combine gravel with larger stones for added interest. This is especially effective in non-level areas where puddles or wet spots tend to appear. Place the largest, flattest stones over the wet areas, and fill in with gravel.
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Mulch
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Gravel does a good job of letting water through to the plants surrounding it, while also helping to control weeds. To make gravel mulch even more weed-suppressing, apply a layer of landscaping fabric beneath the gravel. However, it can get hot during the summer, burning nearby plants, so use gravel as a mulch only in moderate climates, and never around tender plants.
Grass Replacement
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For those who hate mowing and watering the lawn, replacing grass with gravel is popular. For best results, shape the gravel in gentle curves, and surround the gravel areas with planting beds.
Mix and Match
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To add interest to any gravel area, whether a narrow pathway or a wide expanse, combine two types of rock. For example, lay a reddish gravel down the center of a pathway using curves, which are forgiving of mistakes and fit in well with a natural landscape. Then lay gray gravel down on either side of the red.
Picnicking
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Laying gravel beneath a patio or picnic table is a tidy way to handle what can be a messy area. And if you like having a table in a shady spot of the yard—where it’s often difficult to grow grass—gravel is a great solution.
Around Water Features
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Gravel makes an attractive transition between water features like ponds, fountains and bird baths and the rest of the yard. Make the water feature look more natural by adding some gravel inside it, too. For example, put a little gravel in the bottom of the bird bath.
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References
- Photo Credit garden image by Christopher Hall from Fotolia.com
