The ideal location for a gravel garden is sunny, warm and rather dry. Light-hungry, heat- and drought-tolerant species thrive here, and they also need few nutrients. A gravel garden is therefore a good solution, especially for gardens with rather poor soil. But even if such ideal conditions do not exist: You can easily create them, for example with the help of a floor replacement.
White gravel offers a nice contrast to vigorously flowering plants
Beautiful ideas for the gravel garden
Gravel gardens are not just a question of (simplified) care, but of course also of appearance. There are countless ideas for creating such a garden, for example
- as an accurate and artistic reproduction of nature as in the Japanese garden
- as a natural replica of a mountain landscape as in the rock garden
- as a Mediterranean designed gravel garden
- as a replica of a steppe landscape
- as planting near the bank of a stream or garden pond
- as colorfully landscaped gardens with variegated / colored gravel and contrasting plants
- with reduced planting or very lush planted
- or designed in a natural way.
Planting plan makes work easier
Before you go to the nearest garden center and immediately buy plants suitable for the gravel garden and other accessories, you should first consider what style you want your gravel garden to have - and which plants go best with it. Make a detailed plan before planting to get a rough idea of what effect the ensemble will have in the end.
Prepare planting area
In the gravel garden, the rock material is less of a design element and serves to thin the soil and make it permeable. It is therefore easy to create a gravel garden in dry regions. On the other hand, in areas with high rainfall, it is difficult to create suitable conditions. If that is too much work for you, it is better to plant such areas with moisture-loving perennials. To prepare, do the following:
- Peel off any existing lawn.
- Remove all plants that should not be in the gravel garden.
- Loosen the planting area deeply.
- Leave them idle for now.
- The weeds that appear as a result are carefully dug up and removed.
- Use a digging fork to dig it up.
- Heavy, clayey and/or heavily compacted soils should be excavated and replaced.
- In this case, fill in a mixture of chippings (€46.95) and compost instead.
- For every shovel of compost there are about four shovels of grit.
- Mix the individual ingredients well!
Once this preparatory work is done, you can start planting.
Use plants correctly - a guide
However, before planting comes watering, because even drought-tolerant species must be well supplied with moisture before planting - this makes it easier for the plants to grow.
- Repot the plants and remove the top layer of soil.
- This often contains weed seeds, which of course you do not want to spread with them.
- Now place the bales in a bucket of water
- and do so until no more air bubbles rise.
- Now distribute the plants over the area according to the planting plan
- and check the big picture again.
- Now dig the planting holes
- and loosen up matted root balls.
- Insert the plants and press them down well.
- Water thoroughly.
Finally, the area is covered with a four to five centimeter high mulch layer made of coarser grit or gravel. This not only looks good, but also makes it difficult for weeds to germinate.
tips
The gravel cover has to be replaced every few years, as the material migrates into deeper soil layers over time. This work is best done towards the end of winter.