Decorating your outdoor space may be as equally important as decorating the indoor of your apartment. At the end of the day, why shouldn’t you use the potential of your yard and make it an area where you and your friends will hang around?
Landscaping your yard will not only allow you to get creative but will also increase the value of your house in case you want to place it on the real estate market in the future. The Ideas 4 Landscaping Website is a reliable source of info to get you started on budget-friendly landscaping.
While there are a number of different materials that you can play around, it seems that rocks and grass are the most common two. Still, if you are on a tight budget, making grass the focal point of your landscaped yard may not be the smartest decision.
The upkeep costs are quite high, and it is not the best option for winter/autumn season either. Thus, gravel comes in as one of the best alternatives to grass as apart from being more affordable, it can contribute to proper drainage and also puts an end to weeds.
Your Best Bet – Decorative Gravel
Before we get into the few gravel types that may look good in your yard (when combined with rocks), we wanted to introduce you to the decorative gravel concept by explaining a few benefits that come with it.
First and foremost, it is much more durable than your short green grass. Apart from being resistant to all types of climate, it also presents a good walking surface, and there is a good reason why it is suitable for driving roads as well. The maintenance of gravel is almost non-existent. Additionally, it is incredibly flexible, meaning that if after some time you don’t like the initial landscape, you can simply move the decorative gravel to another area or put it around your plants.
Among the most common reasons why people decide for gravel is the versatile design. For example, you can use the combination of grey and earthy gravel to create a rustic walkway border.
Much like we have mentioned above, decorative gravel is an excellent alternative to grass, not only due to the low upkeep cost but also because it is a great water conservator. Additionally, it is the ideal surface for proper drainage. Bearing this in mind, decorative gravel is often used as a mulch additive, thus contributing both to the overall design of the plant area as well as proper insulation and weed-prevention.
As you can see, apart from saving money and time that you would otherwise invest in the grass maintenance, gravel will allow you to get even more creative and provide proper support for your plants.
Tips For Using Decorative Gravel
While we recommend that you check out the Ideas 4 Landscaping website in order to get started, we do have a few suggestions of our own on how to utilize decorative gravel:
Be conscious when you are buying decorative gravel. Keep in mind that bulk offers will be much more affordable. Along with that, your best bet to find a good offer from a local home improvement store as transportation of gravel can be quite pricey.
The next bit of advice is that you should consider the weather when it comes to the placement of your gravel. Dark earthy tones will pick up a lot of sunlight and may get very hot, while pea gravel can be affected by a strong wind, but that is something you can prevent with proper placement.
When it comes to mulching and preventing weed growth, place breathable fabric over the soil and then cover it up with some decorative gravel. This way, you are allowing proper drainage while putting an end to weed issues.
What Decorative Gravel Is Best For Your Yard?
Now that we have discussed a couple of benefits that are related to decorative gravel, as well as mentioning some tips on landscaping with rocks and gravel, we will present a few most common types that you can choose from.
First is the so-called Mexican-beach pebble decorative gravel. Not only because of the blue-grey color and the elegant design, but also because these come in a variety of sizes up to 5 inches in diameter. Whether you are looking to surround your fountain with some smooth, matte gravel, or you want to create a soft walkway border, the Mexican-beach pebble is a good choice. Still, it is not something that you should consider if on a tight budget.
On the other hand, as an affordable variation to decorative gravel, we would recommend the decomposite granite. Yes, it will continue decomposing as time progresses, but due to the low cost investing in an additional layer to cover it up, it shouldn’t be a problem. Frankly, this type of gravel is ideal for driveways.
The pea decorative gravel is probably the most popular type. Coming at a fair price, these rounded pebble rocks can be bought in blue, grey, earthy, and a few other colors being the perfect addition to a modern yard. The biggest benefit of these is the fact that your dogs will enjoy running around due to the smooth and light finish on them.
If you are going for the rustic yard, you need gravel that will provide good drainage river rocks that are a great choice. Thicker, and less elegant than the Mexican-beach gravel, you can design a charming patio border or a fireplace using the river gravel.
Our personal favorite has to be the lava rock. Believe it or not, these are actually derived from the area around inactive volcanoes along with the fact that lava pebble is lightweight, their rarity pumps up the price. Still, lava rocks are durable and a worthy investment if you want to add something fancy into your outdoor space.
Conclusion
Gravel rocks are a popular material for landscaping your yard in an innovative and attractive way. Numerous variations and colors make it an affordable and convenient option that will allow you to go for rustic, modern, and simply enjoy every aspect of the decoration process.