Gravel boards

Magicmarigold

Hello, I've finally bought a house and it's a new build so.a completely blank canvas, I know roughly what I'm going to do with it and have started buying/growing plants to put out however Im.so confused about gravel boards.

The bottom of the fence is touching the lawn pretty much the whole way round and you can see it's already making the wood damp along the bottom. I'm thinking I will need to attach gravel boards which I can just about manage around two sides where the fence posts are in our garden, however on the left hand side the fence posts are the other side ( in neighbours garden) which is where I'm having my raised beds and where I was planning to gravel around them to make a path to the back seating area,  how do I attach something along the bottom to stop my gravel going straight through to next door... 
Thank you! 

Loxley

Dovefromabove

When erecting fences and using gravel boards, please remember to provide access for hedgehogs ... they are dying out because with modern fencing they cannot get from garden to garden to access enough food to live, and to meet up with other hedgehogs to ‘fraternize’ and breed
😢 

Please ensure your garden is accessible to hedgehogs by having a few ‘hedgehog doors’ in your gravel boards. 

https://www.jacksons-fencing.co.uk/hedgehog-fencing

https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden/

Thank you 🦔 

Magicmarigold

Hi thanks for replying, that picture is basically what I'm planning to do on the two sides with the fence posts on our side of the fence, however my problem is on the side where we have the front( or is it that back??) Of the fence with no posts, how to I attach it?? 

Our garden backs onto a country path, the house builders have put hedgehog highways going through every garden and out the back. My dog loves them, sticks her head through whenever anyone walks past.... I'll be leaving a gap for all three of them, but Im going to have to block the back one a bit because of the dog issue ( it's alot of barking!) I'm thinking of a strategically placed compost bin, big enough gap to let a hedgehog past but not a whippet...

BobTheGardener

If the 'good' side of the fence faces you, that usually means it belongs to your neighbour and you would need permission to attach anything to the fence.

It would be a lot easier if you could upload a photo of the area, but it sounds like you need to lay lines of edging for your path (eg bricks, block pavers, timber etc) to retain the gravel.

nick615

Magicmarigold  Hi! Many points to consider.  If you browse other posts on here, you'll find that placing raised beds against wooden structures like fences, either rots the timber or, if protected by polythene etc., creates a gap that fills with detritus and also rots it.  For boundary use it can upset neighbours?

You then want to create a gravel pathway in the vicinity?  By definition, building sites will be disturbed throughout during the construction process, which tends to leave the soil looser than it would otherwise have been.  So, if you merely lay gravel on it, regular footfall will tread it into the soil, thus requiring regular top-ups for a long time.  If you lay some form of plastic membrane down first, then the gravel, people passing over it will tear the plastic to shreds with similar loss of the gravel.  You might consider a visit to a local concrete products outlet to see if they sell paving slabs in a gravel-like finish so that you'll have the look you want for your path as a long term solution?

Magicmarigold

Oooh I didn't think of that! I Could  use a brick, Stone edging to separate the fence, from the floor along the bottom. That wouldn't need to be attached to the fence and would contain everything.
My raised beds are a metre square each so not big, they're not touching the fence will that damage the fence?? 

My soil is clay, extremely compacted clay... Hence the having to use raised beds for my vegetables. For the back border I'm hoping the no dig method will work because there is no way my.back will hold.up to digging all of that up... For the path I was going to dig down ( back hurting just at the thought of it) use sand,.weed membrane and then gravel, would that work?? Oh and that plastic edging that come on a roll that you hammer into the ground along the gras edge... Have I got that completely wrong ? 

nick615

If there is a gap between raised beds and fence, leaves, dust and other wind blown bits will collect in it over time, thus creating damp from dew and rain which will rot timber it touches eventually.  Clay isn't the ideal growing medium but digging it over in small bits, say a square metre per week, mixing in peat or something to break it down, will give you a natural soil in time for your veg.  Remember the old maxim, 'by the inch, it's a cinch.  By the yard it's hard.'

Magicmarigold

thank you for replying everyone, I have solved my gap under fence issue with the honking great bucket of bricks/stones I pulled out of the mud pit before the grass went down but now I'm confused about the beds... if I cant put them next to the fence and I cant leave a gap... where do they go?? its a new build garden, theres only so much space for a lawn for the dog, a flower / shrub border at the back, an 8 foot trampoline for the kids, a seating area at the back in the sun and a few raised beds so I can grow some veg.

I would love to be able to lay paving, extend the patio out and make a lovely seating area at the back however realistically at the moment that is a few years away in terms of budget.. gravel is alot cheaper and will give us a way of walking to the seating at the back without drowning in mud. 

JennyJ

Maybe put the raised beds between the path and the lawn? That way you have access from both sides, and won't rot the fence with debris building up in a narrow gap. Or leave a gap that's wide enough for you to get a broom in and clean out the debris.

If you sketch your plan and post it, I'm sure people will make more suggestions for you.

BobTheGardener

I agree with JennyJ and things are always a compromise.  If I were you, I'd build the raised beds where you want them and just leave a gap to the fence.  Just remember to check for a build-up of leaves etc. collecting in the gap every few months and clear them out with a broom/stick or leaf blower (if you happen to have one.)