Gravel gardens offer a low maintenance solution to your landscaping project, there’s no
mowing for a start! They also cut down on the amount of weeding you have to do and can
be enjoyed all year round. However depending on the type of gravel you use, and the area
in which it is located, your gravel garden may still require some maintenance.
We made ours around 6 months ago, now in terms of actually making it, that
was fairly straight forward. We basically just put down a weed membrane and poured the
gravel onto it to a depth of 50mm and then smoothed it out, I actually just used
my hands to do it but a rake probably would have made things easier. However there are
various things you need to consider before making your own gravel garden so this video is to
talk you through those.
First you will most likely need to prepare
the ground. Whether this is removing grass or just raking and flattening the area, you
do need to ensure you have a flat and solid base. For extra strength, or if you have very
uneven ground, you can lay a sub-base of 50mm. However as our soil is firm and compacted,
we just put the membrane straight onto it.
Using a weed membrane not only helps to stop
weeds from popping up but also helps to keep your gravel clean. If the area is going to
receive a high volume of foot traffic or if you are using sharper aggregates such as slate
then we suggest you use a harder wearing polypropolene one as we have done.
If you want to have plants within the gravel, a fabric membrane is easier to cut and doesn’t
fray as much as the polypropylene one. You just need to cut holes in the membrane where
you want the place the plants and then pack the gravel around them. The best types of
plants to have in your gravel garden include herbs, perennials, and ornamental grasses.
These plants have the most success growing in a gravel environment and also look stunning!
Don’t forget to water your plants as keeping them alive will prevent any unsightly debris
forming on your gravel and discolouring it. You may find that keeping plants in pots is
an easier alternative.
We suggest you choose your gravel wisely.
At Stone Warehouse we offer a huge range, but you will find some types of gravel need
more maintenance than others. The ultimate in low maintenance gravels include hard wearing
products such as flints, basalts, granite and quartz. These products are less porous
than softer materials such as limestone and Cotswold so won’t discolour as quickly,
if at all. Darker coloured aggregates will also help hide any dirt and will require less
cleaning. If the area is going to be walked over, we do recommend angular chippings that
are sized between 12-20mm as anything smaller may get stuck in shoe treads and relocated
around your garden or into your house, or worse still, neighbourhood cats may mistake
your garden for a litterbox. Stones larger than 20mm won’t be as comfortable to walk
over and rounded materials will move around more. The angular gravels not only bed together
better but they also lie flatter so they do form a smoother surface.
We recommend laying your gravel to a depth of 50mm which is 5cm, especially if your area
is going to be walked over. If your gravel is shallower than that then bald patches may
appear and if it is much deeper than that you are likely to sink into it.
As you can see we have opted for lighter coloured gravel. I chose our Polar Ice as it is my
favourite one from the range however it is a marble product. This means it is harder
wearing than Limestone or Cotswold but not as hardwearing as flints or granite products.
Therefore, as you can see in damper areas, the white stones have started to discolour
slightly. You will most likely find there are areas of your garden that are damper and
therefore more likely to discolour your stone. If you have a lot of these then we suggest
choosing the harder wearing aggregates as they will keep their colour better. We would
also advise against using very light or white chippings unless you have a completely free
draining area that gets a lot of sunlight. You also need to be aware of areas where birds
perch. We didn’t realise but our TV aerial is located directly above some of our gravel
and it gets covered in bird droppings. They can also discolour your stone unless cleaned
off regularly. We do suggest when planning your garden, that you note the areas that
birds frequent and recommend using darker materials under them as they will hide the
stains better. Other causes for discolouration are leaves,
these are more of a problem in the Autumn months but can cause issues all year round.
We have found that if they are left on our gravel, the leaves discolour the paler stones.
Therefore if there are trees in or around your garden, again we would suggest opting
for darker colours and a more durable stone product. Otherwise you need to make sure you
clear the leaves from your gravel daily to avoid discolouration.
A leaf blower can come in handy if you need to regularly clear a lot of leaves from your
garden. However as we have a smaller area and the leaves mainly come from just one tree
we do this manually.
With lighter coloured gravels, you may well
find you need to clean them, especially if they have been walked over with muddy shoes.
We found this easy to do with a hose pipe and a hard bristled brush, however you can
also use a power hose on a low setting. The rain will eventually wash the mud off it but
this can take some time. We just use the hose pipe to wash the bird droppings off our gravel.
A sponge and some soapy water will remove the green from your stones, however if your
gravel becomes very discoloured, it is useful to have a small amount in a dry location so
you can top up when required.
As most gravel will arrive with some dust on it, we always suggest
giving it a rinse, so it looks its best.
There are so many options for creating your
own gravel garden and we hope our video has talked you through the main things to consider
when choosing your stone in order to keep your gravel garden as low maintenance as possible.
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