When asking landscape designers about what options there are for making a landscape design especially unique and eye-catching, a suggestion that is often made is the inclusion of gravel. Whilst many landscape designers from martincuthbert.com.au ensure their landscaped gardens are abundant in plants, garden furniture, and ornaments, the gardens that have gravel are often considered the most appealing.
One of the reasons that some homeowners shy away from having gravel in their landscape design is that they do not know enough about gravel in terms of its use and its benefits to make an informed decision. We aim to change that by giving you an outline of how gravel can greatly enhance landscaping and, in particular, make your garden one of those that people remark upon positively.
How Gravel Can Be Used Within A Landscape Design
One of the most remarkable features of gravel is that the uses it can be put to within landscaped gardens are considerable. For those who know little of gravel, the assumption is usually that all it is useful for is as the surface on a driveway, however, here is a list of other locations where gravel can be used on the surface.
- Patios
- Terraces
- Fire Pit
- Play Area
- Walkways
- Dog Runs
- Entrances
In addition to being used for all of the above, another huge advantage of gravel is that it can be used to help create design features that are more for aesthetic purposes than practical. By that, we mean that gravel can be used to enhance the appearance of a landscaped garden when it is part of some of the more artistic features within it. Examples include surrounding an ornamental bird bath or even laying it in recognisable shapes.
Other Practical Uses For Gravel In A Landscaped Garden
- Raised Flower Beds
One great use of gravel is to give the appearance within your garden of uniformity and neatness by adding it to flower beds. Not only can it replace mulch and thus help to prevent weeds, but given its colours and the fact that the gravel will contrast well with the flowers, it adds to the aesthetic appeal of your garden.
- Container Plants
For similar reasons to those for which you would add gravel to flower beds, gravel can be equally effective when added to container plants. In this instance, however, we recommend opting for smaller gravel pieces if they can be sourced.
- Mixed With Other Stones
Gravel can complement other stones used within your landscape design brilliantly. A prime example is where you might be using large flagstones as the main stepping stones along a walkway, and then you use your gravel to fill the gaps between each of the larger flat stones.
- Replace The Lawn With Gravel
We must caveat this suggestion by saying that it works better in smaller gardens that have a tiny lawn rather than with larger lawns. A tiny lawn in a small garden can often be seen as nothing more than something that requires maintenance and is never used for sitting on as it is too small.
The option you have with gravel is to remove the tuft and fill the area with gravel along with some garden ornaments for a low-maintenance, visually appealing new centrepiece to your garden.
Why Pea Gravel Is The Most Popular Choice for Landscaping
Whilst there are various types, shapes, and sizes of gravel available, when it comes to landscape design, pea gravel is the favourite of both landscapers and homeowners. For a start, it is one of the most cost-effective types of gravel given what you will pay for it, and it is also extremely versatile meaning it can be put to various purposes and used to achieve several different aims.
Pea gravel pieces are extremely small, are smooth, and their varied and natural colours also have great appeal. The colours can be a mix of greys, blues, pinks, reds, greens, beiges, whites, and browns, and you will even find some that appear to be translucent.