Gravel leads the way - garden paths

Sunset, May, 1996 by Peter O. Whiteley

Create a garden path in a weekend, and make your yard irresistible for rambling

Crunch, crunch, crunch. The satisfying sound comes as you walk a gravel path that winds its way into a garden. Its serpentine form leads you around each bend until the path ahead disappears among the plants, its uneven texture and natural colors blending into the environment. But a gravel path isn't just about aesthetics. It offers the practical benefit of keeping your feet out of the mud on rainy days, and for the time and money, it's one of the most achievable do-it-yourself landscaping projects.

With a little planning, you can install an entire path in a weekend, and ease of installation is but one reason to consider gravel. Cost is another. At as little as 25 cents per square foot, gravel beats an installed wood, concrete, or brick surface hands down.

Although gravel paths tend to have an informal quality, the type of gravel you use and how you choose to edge it will determine your path's character. Well-defined, broad edging materials like brick, lengths of lumber, or concrete arranged with a crisp, right-angled geometry create a formal tone far different from that of a curving path flanked by loose river rock. The same characteristics can affect your choice of plantings adjacent to the path. For instance, formality can be further emphasized with a low, squared-off hedge of boxwood.

The main drawback of gravel is that it moves with you. Small pieces can wedge into shoes, and the pebbles' angular points can then mar wooden surfaces like decks or floors. In many ways, gravel is better suited to secondary garden paths than to main-entry ones, which should be made of concrete, stone, or brick.

There are many types of gravel, but what you will find at local garden centers and rock-supply yards will mostly be limited to what is quarried in your area. For paths that bear foot and wheelbarrow traffic, two rules of thumb apply.

Small gravel is better. Anything bigger than 3/4-inch diameter is hard on feet. However, if you want to achieve that heavily pebbled or riverbed look and still have good foot support, position broad, flat steppingstones in the field of pebbles and rocks.

Crushed is more stable. Rounded rocks and pebbles (such as pea gravel) tend to roll and shift. Crushed rock, with its fractured, multifaceted edges, locks together to make a more stable base. Select gravel in the 1/4- to 3/8-inch range.

For the most heavily used paths, decomposed granite (called DG) or any crushed gravel sized as "1/4 minus with fines" compacts the best. Since these fine gravels can become muddy when they get wet, many landscape contractors add a soil stabilizer to bind the fragments so they resist water damage. (The stabilizer is a natural plant by-product sold as a powder and usually mixed at the rate of 10 pounds per ton of 1/4-minus gravel.)

MOST FREQUENT QUESTIONS

How wide should the path be? It depends on how you'll use it. If it will wind discreetly through a garden and serve only as a walking surface, 2 feet is adequate. To allow room for lawn mowers and wheelbarrows, make it 3 feet wide. For two people to walk abreast, as in an entry path, it should be 5 feet wide. To experiment with shapes and get a feel for the location, use a pair of garden hoses to define the path.

How much gravel do I need? Gravel is sold by either the ton or the cubic yard. A cubic yard can cover about 160 square feet with a 2-inch layer (adequate for most paths) or 108 square feet with a 3-inch layer (necessary if the surface must be able to handle heavy foot traffic or cars). If you live in a rainy area, you'll need to build up the path a little higher to allow for drainage: start with a 2- to 3-inch layer of compacted 3/4-inch base rock, and top it with a 1 1/2-inch layer of the gravel of your choice.

Gravel prices vary with the type of stone. We surveyed Western rock yards and found that names, colors, and available varieties differed slightly but prices for the most popular gravels generally ran about $24 to $40 per cubic yard.

What kind of edging materials are available? Brick, cobblestone, pressure-treated lumber, benderboard, polypropylene, and metal edgings may be used to define a path and help contain gravel. For a more natural look, some landscapers use a border of partially buried river rock or simply let the gravel blend into the planted borders.

How much maintenance is necessary? In time, gravel decomposes, works into the soil, and moves, so you'll need to add more periodically. For a smooth appearance, frequent raking is required, and you'll find a leaf blower to be a good friend in the fall.