Gravel garden inspiration (photos pls!)

GreenRightHand2022

Hello! 

I’m looking for inspiration for my own soon-to-be gravel garden and would love to see any photos of your lovely gravel gardens to get some inspiration. 

Many thanks in advance! 

Grajean

Hope you receive some ideas as we are also making a gravel area, ours is under a massive Bean tree.

Plantminded

Have a look at Beth Chatto's website or book for ideas, her Gravel Garden is often mentioned as exemplary: Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden.  Depending where you are, perhaps a trip to the garden too!

Fairygirl

I converted the grass I'd put in around 8 years ago. I made a bigger pond, and just extended the gravel from the paths to the whole area. 
These pix are from May this year

The pond was originally in this section, so it was filled in, and the bed extended. Still being added to.

The main thing to consider is what plants suit the soil and your climate. Then just plant accordingly 

Uff

The whole of my back garden is covered in ground cover and then a layer of gravel, I then planted the shrubs on the right of the steps leading up from the drive.
The first pic shows part of it. When I moved in 7 years ago I wanted a low maintenance garden. I achieved my aim except that the shrubs will need to be kept in check now.



The next 3 pics are on the left going up and the steps leading to an arbour with a seat that is now covered in honeysuckle. I'm posting the pics to show that even though it's a gravel garden, larger plants and shrubs can be planted to give added interest.

Obelixx

Lovely pics @Fairygirl and @Uff.

We have a large area at the back of the house which is at one end of our plot and sideways on to the road so a bit odd.  Anyway, it has been almost levelled by previous owners and then "gravelled" with free volcanic stone chippings that come from a quarry down the road.   They then separated and it was left neglected for several years.

Being rock chippings and not smooth, hard gravel, it is an ideal seed bed for all sorts of annual and perennial weeds.  Can't use weed killers here anymore so we've been strimming and mowing as we can but I have noticed that one part is fertile enough  to grow a fine crop of thistles, ox-eye daisies, mallow, lychnis coronaria and wild oats while the rest, being very dry and on poorer soil only manages short weeds and scrubby grass.

We visited Beth Chatto's garden a few years ago and I have her book, The DRy Garden so come this autumn the plan is to start digging out the fertile area, getting out all those thistle roots and then planting a mix of shrubs and perennials that can cope with full sun, occasional but more frequent droughts and heatwaves.

It will include shrubs like cistus and edgeworthia, bulbs such as alliums and perennials such as delosperma, dianthus, dianella, eryngium, helianthemum and then thymes to have a wide range of foliage and flower forms and something for the insects and birds all year round.  

GardenerSuze

Can someone advise me on the best way to stop gravel finding it's way into lawns and borders please. I am considering a gravel garden and would like some advice. One border is curved.

Obelixx

Give it an edge - pavers, bricks, metal or polymer edging that's sold for lawn edging but not cheap thin plastic.  

ontopofthehill

Was very taken with one of the show gardens from the Hampton Court Gardeners World special which was essentially a gravel garden and gorgeous. It was called 'Turfed Out' - better to watch it on that GW episode because these don't really do it justice.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/rhs-hampton-court-palace-garden-festival/gardens/2022/turfed-out

GardenerSuze

@Obelixx Thankyou, this an idea I have for a new project. I think it will be an improvement on a very dry sad looking lawn 

GardenerSuze

@ontopofthehill I agree a lovely garden, also loved the story behind it.