Why is gravel such a great choice for landscaping our gardens?
When you think of gravel you might think of coastal settings, Mediterranean landscapes or perhaps Northern Californian dry gardens? Gravel gardens have been around forever and are becoming increasingly popular for many reasons.
Dry Garden Planting
Climate change plays a large part. As global temperatures increase, gravel gardens will be the future of garden design. Not only are they beautiful, they create the ideal conditions for drought tolerant plants allowing excellent drainage, preventing plants from becoming waterlogged with increasingly erratic weather.
There are a huge array of plants that thrive in these conditions – Santolina, Ceanothus, Achillea and Kniphofia to name just a few. Beth Chatto’s spectacular gravel garden is now famous for the fact that it is never watered, despite being situated in Essex, one of the driest parts of the UK. Head gardener David Ward advises that the planting stage is key. He recommends double digging and adding mushroom compost before finely raking the bed and soaking plants for 5 minutes before planting. The plants are then watered in well and top dressed with gravel as mulch, which looks great but also suppresses weeds and helps to trap moisture. The plants are not watered or fed again.
Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden.
Inspiring drought tolerant planting at every turn.
Gravel size & installation
Gravel sizes start at around 10mm such as pea shingle but a chunkier type, particularity if angular at 20mm, will make it easier to walk on avoiding that sinking beach feel. There are various options to place beneath the gravel to further stabilise the surface.
As seen in our E20 pollinator garden we used type 1 compacted aggregate as a base. This can be crushed limestone, concrete or granite, which acts as a semi-solid base for securing the gravel to prevent slipping and further aids drainage. We then used 10mm Flint gravel from CED stone in combination with ‘Jura Grey’ limestone stepping planks, from London Stone. The warmer gravel offsets the path and blends with the natural tones of the oak curved screen.
There are also grid systems that help to stabilise the gravel in pockets – ideal on driveways and larger paths. 20mm angular gravel is most suited to this system.
Drainage benefits
Gravel has environmental benefits in terms of improving drainage and reducing the impact of flooding. The use of gravel can counteract the effects of urbanisation –specifically paving over large areas, which prevents water from evenly filtering into the ground as it would in a natural setting. Using gravel allows a natural infiltration of rainwater and manages the flow rates from hard surfaces, reducing the impact of flooding on our watercourses.
To stabilise the gravel a crushed aggregate is used as a base.
A warmer tone of gravel was selected to complement the natural tones of the oak screen.
It’s cost-effective
Gravel is a very cost-effective hard landscaping product especially if you ensure that you buy locally sourced gravel, which avoids additional financial and environmental transportation and import costs.
A honey-coloured gravel was used to highlight the warmer tones of the clay pavers.
Design considerations
Gravel adds a natural texture and contrasts beautifully with smooth paving. Here, we have used gravel to surround the staggered paving. The contrasting texture enhances the clean lines of the linear paving, creating a strong focal point.
When selecting gravel, choose a variety that is not too uniform in colour. Varied tones are more practical and minimise the appearance of leaf litter and garden debris. There is a huge selection of colours and sizes available. This makes it easy to harmonise your paving with the optimum tone of gravel to either create contrast or gently blend with other hard landscaping materials.
Here we have used ‘Light Grey’ porcelain paving from London Stone for a contemporary feel, paired with Stone Warehouse ‘Dove Grey’ 8-16mm gravel. The two grey tones blend seamlessly and work in harmony with the tones of the paving and plinth, creating the perfect muted backdrop to the dramatic graffiti apple sculpture, allowing it to shine.
The floating screen is elevated to avoid water damage; gravel further aids drainage.
Pale grey gravel blends with the paving and plinth allowing the sculpture to be the focal point.
Wet & dry testing
When selecting gravel it is important to always check the colour in wet and dry conditions, particularly if you are matching it to other surfaces. Gravel often dramatically changes colour, revealing warmer tones when wet. For example, gravel that appears dusty and grey when dry can become much richer in tone when wet.
Gravel ticks all the boxes: sustainable, affordable, beautiful and versatile. There is no doubt that it will become increasingly popular, as climate change manifests as a locally tangible reality here in the UK. Beth Chatto’s stunning garden is a testament to its understated beauty and sustainability. Provided gravel gardens are prepared and planted with care, they are among the most low-maintenance gardens in the world.
Test gravel against paving samples to select the right colour.
Gravel and paving in dry conditions.
Gravel and paving in wet conditions.
Gravel comes in many shapes and tones, experiment with samples to select the right choice for the setting.
