We’ve all seen it; in parking lots, in yards, in mountains, or in public parks. It comes in all shapes and sizes; from the size of a pea to the size of a watermelon. What is it? It’s gravel, the easy to care for, low maintenance landscaping tool. When you have that free spot in your yard, and are looking for something to beautify your landscaping; look no further than gravel.
Gravel is usually made up of small rocks, usually of all different types and mineral makeups. From quartz to igneous, gravel’s got it all; giving it color and diversity. Gravel is also available in different kinds of specific rock, such as red-rock, and pure soap quartz, for variety.
Depending on the size of the area you have to work with; I would even recomend playing with different kinds of gravel to give it different texture and add artistic value to the decor.
Small gravel, known in vernacular as ‘pea gravel’ because of it’s size, is usually a good filler, if you have uneaven ground, or if you have a very limited space.
At the other end of the spectrum, you have your River-Rock, which includes rocks from 2-10 pounds each. If you have a large area, river rock is a stellar option, because it looks fantastic. [However, if you have small children; be cautious, because these larger rocks are harder to navigate on, and you certainly don’t want to turn your yard into a mindfield for the little ones.]
Preparation
When it comes to laying a successful gravel bed, preparation is everything. [You will need a tape measure, some gloves, weed poison, black plastic or gravel fabric for this step.]
First, scope out the area for your new gravel bed. If it’s already covered in grass, or worse yet, weeds, you will need to get all of it out of there to the bare dirt. Measure the area to determine how much plastic and weed killer you will need. Also, if you want to use different types of gravel and make patterns with it, determine where you will put your molds now. [to use as molds, most home imporvement stores sell long black rolls of durable plastic separators. They’re also used to line flower beds.]
Second, once you have your bare dirt, I reccomend you spray it down with some heav-duty weed killer. Plants are very tenacious, and they can quickly ruin the look of your bed.
Third, after spraying the first time, let dry for fourty-eight to seventy-two hours, and spray again. [Optional] This should keep the weeds from tunnelling through the plastic you’re about to lay down.
Fourth, after this has been done, it’s time to lay plastic. When it comes to plastic, there is one rule; better too much than too little. As you lay it, I recommend wieghing it down, or staking it to the ground. You will likely have to deal with seams in your plastic; make sure that these always overlap. The seems are your weakest point, so don’t be afraid to overlap them several inches, one over the other.
Now your ready for your gravel.
Adding the Gravel
For this step you will need a shovel, a wheel barrow, a rake and some elbow grease.
Likely, you will have your gravel delivered from a gravel pit. When it arrives, it may be a little… well, a little mixed with dirt. This isn’t uncommon. You may want to set up a sifter and get rid of all the dirt; but you don’t have to. After you lay it, the dirt will sift down to the bottom. [One note of caution, however, if there’s too much dirt, the weeds will start growing in it, defeating the purpose of your plastic.]
Anyhow, now it’s time to get to work. Shovel the gravel into little piles onto your plastic. This will take a long time, and I don’t recommend doing it in the heat of summer, because it’s very labor intensive work.
After having done this, start raking the piles. Be VERY CAREFUL while raking not to catch your plastic, because you will regret it if you do. This is also quite labor intensive.
[I recomend not trying to do this all in one day, give yourself at least a weekend.]
There, now that your gravel is all laid; stand back and admire it. Good job.
Upkeep
There’s not much to do, now that the gravel is laid; but I do recommend spraying it with weed killer at least once a year. Other than that; you now have your beautiful gravel bed. Enjoy!
