Landscaping with Gravel

If you want to easily create a unique walkway through your garden or patio, stepping stone landscaping is a great option - and you can change it at any time.

Natural stepping stones make beautiful paving stones, and you can use them in a variety of ways. They are also a very cost effective way to bring an organic and rustic feel to your garden.

By using gravel for landscaping instead of maintaining your lawn, you are choosing a greener, more environmentally friendly option, while solving a large number of common landscaping problems. While gravel has been a common choice in more arid areas of the United States, it is becoming more and more common nationwide. It's a cost-effective, low-maintenance way to keep your landscaping in place without having to keep your entire lawn healthy and thriving.

Gravel instead of grass

Choosing to use gravel instead of grass for landscaping is a more environmentally friendly option. Watering, mowing and fertilizing your lawn is very time consuming and not particularly friendly to our planet. By using gravel, you won't have to use as many chemical pesticides on your lawn to prevent weeds from growing, and you'll save a lot of water. Plus, you'll be able to recoup all the time you spend maintaining your lawn and use that energy for another home improvement project.

How to prepare the ground for gravel

To prepare the gravel for your garden, you need to clear the space of all vegetation, including weeds and grass. Then, dig into the ground several times to get the topsoil in good condition, and follow up by raking the surface into an even, uneven layer without bumps. If you plan to use gravel for your garden, you may need to spread some fertilizer before applying the gravel to add nutrients to the soil. If you are concerned about drainage, it is best to spread a layer of sand before laying the gravel. Create a border around your garden that is a few inches deep and about 4-5 inches wide. Now you're ready for the gravel layer. Spread the type of gravel you choose until there are no bare spots and an even layer of gravel covers the entire garden patch.

How thick should the landscape gravel be?

While this depends on how, where and why you use landscaping gravel in your yard, it usually needs to be thick enough to cover the ground without any bare spots. It will naturally thin over time, so you'll need to keep a close eye on it and refresh the gravel when the time is right. When you talk to a landscaping expert in Richmond, VA, they will be able to help you apply the gravel to the right thickness and refresh your gravel whenever you feel like it.