We meet each new summer season with new ideas and new plans. And at the same time we want to get the maximum result with a minimum of opportunities. For example, on the territory of a summer cottage, a flower bed is an indispensable decoration. And we set to work with zeal and desire. But what about weeds? There is a solution - these are flower beds made of crushed stone, which combine bright flowers and multi-colored (or plain) decorative crushed stone around them. In addition, our flower bed can be of any shape and color!
Pebbles are formed during the decomposition of rocks, and are rolled in water (sea, river, stream). Round stones contain impurities that affect their strength. They are crushed industrially and the sizes are selected depending on the purpose of use: decorative or construction. Various sizes can be used, ranging from 1-3mm. and ending with 40-70mm.. Usually, for greater expressiveness, decorative crushed stone of different sizes is selected for both the flowerbed and the garden. But small stones are used for the path: the smaller the stones, the more convenient it is to walk on them.
We try to keep up with the times, using new, unusual forms of garden design. The use of crushed stone and gravel in landscape architecture is becoming increasingly popular.
There are now no problem areas in the garden: empty and useless, waterlogged, shaded. We cover them with crushed stone, and not necessarily of the same size; you can add medium and large stones. And small colored crushed stones will give an unusual look to paths branching among the trees in the garden. Here you need a layer of 5-8 cm.
Without it it is impossible to create an alpine slide. Without stones and crushed stone, the slide will “lose” its external color and will look uninteresting. And the closed space between the plants makes the slide an element close to natural conditions. The bottom of a decorative pond, decorated with blue crushed stone, will give it a special, slightly fabulous look. You can bring large boulders that will protrude from the water.
If you want to create a Japanese-style garden, no problem. Stone is an important part of Japanese design. There are “gardens of emptiness” made entirely of stone. Large stones are scattered without any special system, depicting islands and mountains, and the ground is covered with small rubble. The “rock garden” also requires care, but it is special.
Colored natural stone is indispensable in complex landscape compositions, and, of course, in flower beds. Here it is laid out in a layer of 2-4 cm. Decorative crushed stone does not require constant maintenance, and the space filled with it remains clean and looks aesthetically pleasing. In addition, the dyes do not lose their richness and brightness for a long time, and are harmless to the external environment and its inhabitants. Therefore, after cleaning it, the area can be used by planting any plants on it.
You can choose the color you are interested in. Acrylic and alkyd paints and colored aerosol enamel in a can are used.
This method is suitable for painting a small amount of stones. If you need to paint a lot of pebbles, then you need to pour them into a large container, pour the paint on top and mix thoroughly (you can use a concrete mixer for this purpose).
Of course, crushed stone in a flowerbed looks unusual, but why not try streamlined pebbles? Then we need a large container, cement and paint. We do everything step by step:
Let's try to create a new generation flower bed using modern technologies. In our work we will need 2 types of geotextile mulch fabric, devices for fixing it, a special membrane against weeds, containers for planting flowers, decorative crushed stone of various colors and sizes.
We must prepare a place for the flowerbed: give it the desired shape, build a fence, making a reserve for height. This depends on the gravel layers and the height of the planting containers. Then you need to spread the first layer of canvas as protection against remaining weeds and their seeds. It is cut and laid as a continuous covering or overlapping (up to 10 cm), and secured with needle-type degradable fasteners. When securing the canvas to the fence, metal clamps are used.
Holes are cut in the covering and recesses are dug for soft containers of the required shape. Subsequently, they are filled with soil and plants are planted in them. They will separate the plant area from the gravel layer and protect the roots from pests. You can begin to fill in the first layer of gravel, the thickness of which is 2/3 of the thickness of the fence. Its main role is drainage and removal of rainwater. If the flowerbed is planned near the foundation of the house, then a groove is created from crushed stone to drain water.
The second layer of garden geotextile will serve as a filter between the gravel layer below and the decorative crushed stone above. A decorative layer of crushed stone is poured onto it. It is advisable to wash both gravel and crushed stone. Geotextiles should not be noticeable, so we use crushed stone of different colors and sizes. Everything is ready: you can fantasize and create your own unique composition design.
This method is simple and does not require any special skills. All you need is free time and a desire to experiment. The flowerbed is already ready and a variety of flowers or floral arrangements grow on it. You need to remove the weeds, take a backfill of crushed stone of a certain or neutral color and fill the space around the flowers. The layer of crushed stone is laid at a depth of 2-3 cm. There should be no gaps in the ground. And as a final touch, create a homemade or store-bought border.
But this method also has disadvantages. Over time, crushed stone mixes with the ground and does not look so beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Then you will have to slightly renew the flowerbed. At the end of the season, the crushed stone can be collected, washed and reused the following year.
The best place for a rocky garden is an area with light sandy soil. The area is filled, the turf is removed with a 20 cm layer of soil, carefully digging and removing roots and rhizomes. The area is moistened and left for 10 days for the remaining roots to germinate.
Dig up the area with the addition of baking powder, draining the soil.
The soil is compacted and the area is covered with geotextiles. The sheets must be joined together. The area is covered with crushed stone 5-10 cm thick, in which holes are dug, filled with earth and plants are planted. In landscape design, stone chips, crushed stone of several colors, sea pebbles, and shells are used. At the same time, select the desired color and size.
First, a design project for plant placement is created. Shrubs are planted in the designated areas. Once they are established, you can plant carpet plants and perennials. It is better to plant daylilies in clumps. Single plantings do not look so advantageous; they suffer from rain and wind. Finally, seeds of annual and biennial crops are sown, which are subsequently renewed by self-seeding. Annuals are sown in early spring, and biennials in June, which guarantees flowering the following year.
The varieties chosen for a garden with gravel and crushed stone should be drought-resistant and at the same time be decorative. It is necessary to pay attention to the biological characteristics of plants, to their development cycle, so as not to create additional difficulties for yourself later.
Mahonia holly attracts attention throughout the year with its shiny dark green leaves, yellowish flowers and bluish berries. Hosta varieties decorate the area with wide leaves. They may not be replanted for several years. Irises, daylilies, and ferns are also unpretentious. Plants with silvery leaves look beautiful on crushed stone: gray fescue, chickweed, wormwood, lavender, cineraria, carnation. Among shrubs, cotoneaster and gorse are most often grown, and among cereals, blue fescue is grown.
Despite the simplicity and availability of decorative crushed stone, any flower bed will become unusual and a little fantastic if the flowers are surrounded with light crushed stone. It is this background that emphasizes the different color schemes. There may be other colors, there is always the opportunity to experiment. Flower beds, paths, garden paths will be practical and original. Crushed stone next to the pool and fountain - and you are on the seashore. Decorative crushed stone allows the designer to carry out the most daring projects that can be admired again and again.
If you are still wondering whether it is worth trying to create a flower bed using decorative crushed stone, then think about what is better:
Think and create your own unique flower plot using decorative crushed stone.
Every self-respecting summer resident is simply obliged to organize a flower garden at his or her summer cottage. Garden flower beds are an indispensable decoration for him. Let us note that it is important not just to choose a beautiful flowerbed, but also to choose new, original ideas, it is important to choose the right flowers, materials, and special stones.
Often our flowerbeds are overrun by weeds, which make life much more difficult. But it is worth noting that there is an excellent solution for creating a decorative base and at the same time getting rid of them. We are talking about flower beds made of decorative crushed stone. Such flower beds imply not only the benefits, but also the beauty of various bright flowers. If you liked this solution for the unusual design of your garden, let's look at the features.
Stones are used in different sizes, both large and small. They are formed during the decomposition of rocks, and are also rolled in by water, for example, in seas and rivers. Moreover, round stones contain various impurities, which affects their strength. They are crushed industrially, and the sizes of crushed stone can be controlled and made different. Depending on the purpose, they are used as small ones from 1-3 mm, and larger ones, up to 70 mm. Gravel is used much less frequently.
To ensure that your flowerbed is original and interesting, you should use decorative crushed stone of different fraction sizes. But for decorative garden paths it is worth taking small pebbles.
The smaller the pebbles, the more comfortable it will be for you to walk on them. The advantages of crushed stone for flower beds are:
Every day the use of gravel and crushed stone for landscaping is becoming more and more popular.
Let's say you and I are convinced of the need to use stones. But how to apply them correctly? First, we determine the most problematic, empty and unused areas, as well as those in the shade. They stand and, most often, need to be covered with crushed stone. We must use stones that are not necessarily the same size. Alternate gravel with crushed stone. To create a decorative path, small, colored crushed stone is suitable to give an original look. Let the layer be 5-7 cm. Let us only note that it is environmentally friendly, looks attractive, does not require cleaning, and at the same time you can paint it yourself in any color.
Most often, blue-colored crushed stone is used to decorate an artificial reservoir. In this case, it is advisable to alternate it with large boulders.
As for the application, everyone’s favorite alpine slide is most often built using stone. If this application is excluded, it will lose its entire appearance. In addition, you can close the space between plants, and this will also add some similarity to natural conditions.
It is noteworthy that if you like this type of decoration, you might like Japanese gardens. These are empty gardens, which usually do not have flower beds, but only with laid stones.
Of course, it can also be used in flower beds. In flower beds, the material is usually laid out in a thin layer, but we’ll look at it in more detail later. You can also use decorative streamlined pebbles in the flowerbed.
We offer you recommendations for creating a modern, original flower bed. To work, we will need two types of geotest mulch fabric, as well as fastenings for it, a membrane for weeds, and containers for planting flowers. Well, it goes without saying that different fractions of crushed stone are needed.
To begin with, we carry out preparatory work. A place for a flower bed is prepared in the required shape, a fence is built, and a height reserve is made. Everything will depend primarily on the layer of gravel you choose, as well as the height of the planting container. We lay out the main layer of canvas as a protective layer against weeds and seeds. To do this, it is worth laying it out with a continuous covering, with an overlap of about 10 cm. We secure it with needle-shaped decomposed clamps. But when fencing the canvas at the fences, it is worth using metal clamps.
Next, cut holes in the covering for the containers and dig holes in the ground. The containers used are soft. Fill them with soil and plant plants in them. Separate vegetation from gravel layers by zoning. Containers will protect your plants from unnecessary pests, as well as their roots from them.
Now you can fill in crushed stone for the flower bed so that its layer is 2/3 of the thickness of the entire fence. The function of drainage and removal of rainwater will be performed.
We make the second layer of geotextile as a filter between the gravel substrate and decorative crushed stone. Place it so that it is not noticeable. If you use crushed stones of different sizes and different colors to create an attractive design.
There is another simple option. You don't need any special skills to implement it. To create such a flower bed you need a little free time and the desire to implement experiments. To do this, we take a ready-made ordinary flowerbed that grows in your garden plot.
You have a wonderful color composition that is worth preserving and enhancing. Remove weeds. Next, we take crushed stone backfill for the flower bed, so that it is always a neutral color and not bright. We fill the space around your flowers with this bedding in about a 3cm layer without gaps. Well, at the end we use a border around the flowerbed and crushed stone backfill. You can make it yourself, or you can make it from store-bought materials. But keep in mind that what will happen with weather conditions is that the crushed stone will mix with the ground and the aesthetics will be lost.
There is an educational video on the topic that interests you, which you can watch below:
Time moves inexorably forward, new ideas for using various materials appear. Alpine slides and rock gardens once seemed to us something unusual and difficult to implement. Previously, in squares and parks one could see a sculpture, flowerbed or fountain in the center of the poured gravel. However, now, keeping up with the times, we understand that everything is not so complicated, and we begin to experiment.
The use of gravel in the garden is becoming more popular. This material is an integral part of the design. Dry gardens and garden paths are backfilled with gravel. This is an excellent material that you can and should work with. It has a different shape (angular, oval), color (black, red, yellow, gray, orange, green) and size. Depending on the weather, be it sun, fog or rain, its appearance also changes. Gravel is also often used as drainage when planting or as mulch in hot weather to keep the soil cool. Added to the foundation to reduce the consumption of cement-sand mortar and increase the service life of the structure. They are made from gravel, which serve as a dividing border or simply as a spectacular decorative element. 
Translated from French, the word gravel means coarse sand, particles of which are larger than 1 mm. It is formed during the destruction of a mountain range, and is polished by the water flow of a river, stream or sea. Round pebbles always have impurities, which is why their strength depends. Crushing is carried out industrially depending on the purpose of use, for construction work or for decorative purposes. Fractions can have sizes of 1-3 mm, 3-5 mm, 5-10 mm, 10-20 mm, 20-40 mm, 40-70 mm.
To create a gravel garden, stones of the same size are used, or for greater expressiveness, stones of different fractions are selected. The smaller the size, the easier and more comfortable it is to walk on. Usually they combine stones up to 10 mm with larger ones.
Advantages of gravel are undeniable, especially if you also take into account such an aspect as the fact that this is an inexpensive environmentally friendly material. When installed correctly, it does not interfere with air exchange, due to which the root system of plants underneath develops at a normal pace.
Decorative material that is equally beautiful in any weather. They can be used to decorate any problem area of the garden where this cannot be done by planting, be it swampiness, impenetrable shadow or poor soil. It looks great paired with wood, glass, moss, metal, which allows you to build a wide variety of compositions.
Does not require skill and is easy to care for.
Disadvantages of gravel
And yet they exist - working with gravel takes a lot of time and physical strength. However, this is not such a compelling argument to refuse to work with the material. But here are the remaining nuances that may be subject to rejection:
— gravel is unpleasant to walk on, especially for older people or small children;
— you can’t ride a bicycle or children’s cars on gravel;
— difficult to transport a wheelbarrow;
— in winter it is impossible to clear snow and ice;
- - dangerous for gravel, they will ruin the entire appearance of the garden;
— in the fall, a lot of leaves will fall on the gravel under the trees, which will complicate cleaning and contaminate the stones themselves;
— over time, gravel becomes clogged and cleaning it will be problematic.
How to make a gravel garden
To create such a corner, you first need to carry out a number of works: clear the area of weeds and debris, make markings. Next, you need to remove the top layer of soil (15-20 cm), lay drainage made of sand or small crushed stone at the bottom. If the area is sandy or loamy, then you can do without drainage. Sprinkle herbicide-treated soil on top to reduce weed growth. When the preparatory work is completed, adjust the relief and leave to rest. If the gravel garden is made on a slope, then the angle of inclination should not exceed 10°, otherwise the gravel will begin to sink over time. In this case, the site is divided into terraces.
When the earth is compacted, we lay a black permeable film (lutrasil, agril), it will not allow weeds to sprout. If you use regular thick film, be sure to make holes in it so that water does not accumulate, but goes into the ground. In terms of area, it should take up more space than the garden topography itself.
Now we start planting the plants by making cross-shaped holes in the film. We unfold the edges so that we get squares, replace the soil in them with fertile one and plant the plants in the hole.
Suitable for planting in a gravel garden: yarrow, tansy, bergenia, sedum, phlox, perennial aster, sedum, hosta, thyme, creeping ground cover and others. Of the tall ones: goldenrod, monarda. From trees and shrubs: juniper, fir, cypress, spirea, . For a gravel garden in the shade, moss combined with ferns can be an interesting option. But then such elements of rutaria as must be present. Select plants depending on their characteristics (moisture-loving, drought-resistant) and your desire to care for them. When finished, fill all gaps with gravel, starting from the most distant place. The gravel layer should be at least 5 cm. Before backfilling, it is advisable to rinse the stones with water to remove remnants of weeds and pathogens. Don't be alarmed if the gravel garden seems empty by the time you finish the work; over time, the plants will grow and you can adjust everything.
How to make a garden path from gravel
Outline the boundaries of the future path using pegs and nylon thread. Fill the inner part with a layer of sand (15 cm), lay a layer of building crushed stone (15 cm) on top and finish filling with a layer of gravel with a fraction of up to 1 cm. You can decorate a gravel path with a curb stone, which will solve not only the question of how to decorate the border, but also the problem gravel spreading on the sides. You need to lay it a little higher. At the end of the work, water the gravel garden path, compact all layers well again and enjoy the work done. The average track width is usually 1 m.
Ornamental plants are undoubtedly the main decoration of the garden, but there are also other materials that can be used to decorate the landscape.
These are various stones, fences, small architectural forms, as well as decorative filling, which has become increasingly popular lately.
Its properties are so diverse that there are many ways to use it in the garden.
The variety of types, materials, and colors can confuse you when choosing backfill. Therefore, in this article we will consider all the main points on its selection and use in landscape design.
Decorative filling, represented by bulk materials, is used to mulch the soil for various purposes. All types are divided into organic and inorganic fills.
The most popular organic ones are:
However, there are also disadvantages of such fillings– they are lightweight, can be carried by wind, and have a short service life compared to inorganic materials. But the disadvantages are replaced by the main advantage - low cost.
Anyone can afford to buy wood chips, since they are mainly a waste product from the wood processing industry.
It is necessary to use organic fills with caution, since they are placed directly on the ground and over time, the lower layer, rotting, can change the acid-base environment of the soil (mainly acidified) and its composition. However, for some plants this is a favorable factor, for example for rhododendrons.
If, nevertheless, you have chosen this type of filling, then it is advisable to add it annually to update the appearance and compensate for the rotted lower layer.
Inorganic fills are divided according to their origin into natural and artificial.
In the first case, the most popular are the following:
The advantages of these fills are their durability, they do not crumble or fade, and retain their original appearance for a long time. In addition, they are easy to care for, and organic natural fillings keep the soil from excessive heating and do not interfere with water and air exchange.
The downside is that it is difficult to remove debris from their surface, so it is better to use them away from trees. After a couple of seasons, when dust, seeds, or soil particles get into them, the fills become silted and weeds may appear, but they can be easily weeded out or treated with herbicides.
Inorganic fills of artificial origin include plastic and colored glass. They are laid on a pre-prepared base made of geotextile, film, as well as fills of natural origin.
Decorative fill is very popular and is widely used in landscape design. With its help, you can significantly transform a site, complement any composition of plants, and using it you can create a Japanese garden (“dry”), an alpine hill, a sand garden (without water, from coarse gravel).
Filling is widely used when creating paths, patios, and also as mulch, for decorating tree trunks or as a replacement for a lawn.
Path made of decorative fill You can do it yourself quite quickly. To do this, you need to dig a pit (shallow, 10-15 cm), cover it with geotextiles and pour backfill (7-10 cm).
It is better to reinforce the edges of the path with stones or a special garden border. Using the same principle, you can make any elements of the composition, combining them with plants that are planted in slots in geotextiles and a lawn.
As a decorative element, you can use decorative fills when creating stone screes on an alpine hill, in a rock garden, or when decorating the shore of a reservoir. In order to highlight a particular plant, choose a backfill that is contrasting in color.
Organic materials as mulch are an excellent solution when planting perennial plants. The fill will fill the open space until the plants grow and cover the bare soil. This will also help retain moisture in the soil.
For 1 sq. m usually need about 50-100 kg of gravel, and wood chips or bark half as much.
Decorative filling refers to bulk materials of different fractions used for mulching the soil. This can be small and large gravel, stone chips, shells, sand, pebbles, wood chips, pine nut shells, bark and decorative “pebbles” made of plastic or glass.
The use of various decorative fills in the landscape can transform the appearance of your site. A number of decorative compositions - rock garden or rock garden, Japanese landscape, landscape pond, sand garden - are unthinkable without backfills. In addition, they can be used to create patios and paths, and for flower beds. Mulching the soil protects it from excessive evaporation of moisture. And by using multi-colored glass, colored decorative chips, and filling with crushed stone of different shades in the garden, you can achieve phenomenal effects.
Among these fillings, the most popular are cedar husk and pine bark.
First of all, the advantages of pine bark include a long service life: the bark does not rot for a long time (especially large fractions) and does not fade. Moreover, such backfill is an environmentally friendly material that fits into the composition of the landscape.
Wood chips And cedar husk They are painted in different colors and thus provide a wide field for experimenting with coloring in the garden. Wood chips are painted with environmentally friendly paints. Of course, you need to use colorful chips in the garden with caution: both the color of the mulch and the composition must be consistent with the surroundings.
Too bright colors of colored wood chips are inappropriate in landscape compositions. But a variety of colors will allow you to create colorful soft paths.
The indisputable common advantage of these fills is their low cost. These materials themselves are inexpensive, and some of them (chips, bark) are by-products of wood processing industries.
The main disadvantage is the relatively short service life.
Using organic fills in flower beds, in tree circles - wherever they are laid directly on the ground - you need to keep in mind that over time, the rotting lower layer of mulch changes the composition of the soil. Most organic fills acidify the soil. For some plants, this property of decorative fillings can be an advantage - for example, for rhododendrons.
When laying decorative filling It is advisable to add a small amount of material to the soil every year - firstly, this will preserve the appearance, and secondly, it will compensate for rotting.
These fills include crushed stone, gravel of different fractions, pebbles (sea and river), and sand. Inorganic fills also include materials of artificial origin - plastic and colored glass (colored decorative “pebbles”).
The advantage of inorganic fills lies primarily in their long service life. The gravel backfill does not crumble and does not change its appearance. Stone fills require almost no maintenance. In addition, gravel filling protects the soil from overheating and does not retain water.
One of the main disadvantages of inorganic fills is that it is very difficult to remove accumulated debris (wood litter) from them, so it is better to place crushed stone paths and compositions with gravel fill away from trees. Over time, decorative inorganic fills silt, and soil particles, seeds and sand can get into them. As a result, weeds appear on the covered surface. But they fall out easily.
Filling has become widespread in the design of patios and paths. But decorative fills are also used as mulch in flower beds and for decorating tree trunk circles.
All types of fills can be used to design paths. To form a path, it is necessary to dig a shallow pit, lay geotextiles, and then fill it with backfill.
The best layer is 7 cm. Using the same technology, huge free spaces can be decorated with decorative backfill. By combining decorative fills of different colors and fractions, you can achieve beautiful effects. To make the composition more diverse, you can add several expressive green plants.
To do this, an incision is made in the geotextile, and a plant is planted in the resulting hole.
In addition, decorative fills can be used as an element of various decorative compositions - to create “stone screes” in rockeries, on alpine hills and on the shore of a garden pond. Sometimes decorative fills serve to highlight certain plants.
Mulching with organic materials can be a good option when starting a garden and planting perennials. It is known that immediately after planting is traditionally a losing proposition for most perennials. If you plant them at a distance that is best for their further development, soil will inevitably remain between the flowers.
But if you decorate these spaces, for example, with wood chips, then the “bare earth” will look like part of the design idea, and your garden will take on a complete look.
