Decorative rocks and gravel are excellent, low-maintenance, affordable ways to give your outdoor space a beautiful, stylish look. From river rocks to rustic sandstone, decorative gravel in Calgary is available in various colours and sizes to accentuate different landscaping themes.
Gravel is a versatile landscaping supply that you can use in multiple ways around your garden, driveway, and pond, whether the ground you’re working with is flat or uneven. Read on for some cool ways to use decorative gravel in landscaping.
Soil Cover
The most common way to incorporate decorative gravel in landscaping is to use it as soil cover. Stones provide fantastic coverage without looking unnatural, whether you choose the finer pea gravel or larger lava rocks.
Gravel as soil cover is a cheap and effective way to hide unsightly open soil, weed mats, crumbling pathways, and uneven garden bed boundaries. Add at least 2 to 3 inches of rocks for best results.
Plus, you can use rocks to create new rustic-looking borders around your flower beds and veggie garden. Or maybe you’d want to create a small rock garden with ornamental plants using large stones.
Similarly, adding cobbles below floating furniture or keeping your lawn chairs over settled resin-bound gravel is a good idea. There are countless options to experiment with!
Landscaping Ponds and Fountain
Mixed decorative rock and gravel is an excellent cover for fountain bases and the edges of ponds. Use darker-coloured aggregates to soften edges and create a more natural look around your pond.
For example, smaller river rocks can create a ramp or walkway around your pond. Next, add larger stones to create natural boundaries in the pond’s surrounding area.
For fountains that recirculate water, dark river rocks are ideal. Since they’re splashed with water, it gives an almost black appearance, creating a lovely contrast with the surrounding foliage and making it look verdant and rich.
And the versatility doesn’t end there – consider adding gravel to the underwater base in ponds and aquariums. It helps sustain aquatic plants by anchoring them, and the biochemical properties of some pebble types can filter the water, keeping fish, corals, and plants healthy.
The good news is that you can easily find various gravel sizes and colours at landscape suppliers in Calgary.
But remember that not every decor aggregate is suitable for an aquatic environment. Stones such as lime will affect the pH of your pond and can harm pond life. As such, using pebbles or pea gravel is always better. Make sure to wash all stones before adding them to your pond.
Drainage
Decorative aggregates offer quick and easy drainage in walkways and gardens. Gravel allows water to flow through slowly, reducing the risk of flooding in your garden. The best part? Gravel does this function while adding attractive pops of colours to your landscape!
Replace Mulch With Gravel
Are you tired of wood mulch? Try replacing it with medium to large-sized rock. They don’t blow away (except lava rocks), making for perfect tree bases and flowerbed mulch. Gravel helps prevent water evaporation so that the ground will stay moist for new growth.
Walkways
Lastly, pebbles and gravel are a great way to define your walkways and fill gaps. You can add them between stepping stones to fill the ground and add texture while keeping it seemingly unified.
If your patio stones match other outdoor elements, consider adding contrast with gravel to draw attention. Or you may want to use gravel as a base for brick or stone walkways and extend the path.
Additionally, gravel works well as a flooring material for gardens and patios if you put in a wooden border or decorate it with bark. Smaller rock is generally softer and more pleasing to walk on, so consider adding it beneath stepping stones. Medium-sized gravel is more suitable for driveways.
Decorative Rock in Calgary
Get your decorative rock in Calgary at wholesale prices from Ornamental Stone! We have the largest selection of decorative gravel in Calgary and offer delivery options for any project.