Droughtproof your garden – build a gravel garden

We suggest you consider creating a gravel garden and droughtproof your garden for the future.

Save water and time – use gravel in the garden

The threat of regular hosepipe bans loom large in the future. Lawns are destined to stay brown and parched for many weeks during drought periods. With the prospect of more summers in the future being hot and dry, it may be time to reconsider the place of the traditional lawn in UK landscaping schemes.

At Stoneworld we can suggest alternatives such as gravel for larger landscaped areas.

A bulk delivery of gravel can be spread relatively quickly and will give a parched garden an instant new look.  Using strategically placed feature stones, planted pots or raised beds could be a revelation, immediately and dramatically reducing the maintenance requirements in the garden, with less time spent mowing and watering.

How to incorporate gravel into your garden

In the UK the traditional green lawn has long been the emblem of the British garden. However, think Tuscan villa or French chateau, and you will recall that gravel gardening is a style of landscaping that is frequently used in hotter countries.

In the UK garden designer Beth Chatto championed the ‘dry garden’ many years ago for her particular conditions in the East of England. She successfully incorporated beautiful draught resistant planting schemes through a vast gravel garden.

Now we all need to think how to manage these conditions in our gardens. With edges softened using plants such as lavender or thyme, very striking, and usable outdoor spaces can be created.

Which gravel to choose

At Stoneworld, we stock many different colours and sizes of gravel available for this kind of landscaping. The available choices will ensure you can create a unique garden for your home.

Crushed granite or basalt makes angular gravel that binds well when laid. It is available in several striking colours such as red, black, green, which can add great contrast to your scheme.

Slate can create beautiful landscaping schemes with its flatter shards of stone, which lay flatter due to their shape.  Using slate as a mulch around plants to suppress weed growth makes a very attractive feature. At Stoneworld Slate is available in: green, plum and blue.

For a lighter scheme Cotswold chippings have a paler colour which makes a lovely mellow backdrop to planting schemes.

You could also create a dry river bed scheme using pebbles and cobbles of various sizes to mimic the natural gradation of a river bed, with interspersed planting to soften the look.

Preparation is everything. The demands of the site dictate the groundwork required. Advice is available at Stoneworld regarding advance preparation required before laying the gravel.

Not only will a gravel garden refresh your garden this year, improving the appearance immediately, it will reduce maintenance requirements saving you time and money going forward.

If you have any questions, please call us on 01844 279274 or email us at sales@stoneworld.co.uk and our team will be happy to help.