Landscaping With Gravel

One of the great things about gravel is that it can solve a lot of problems within tricky areas of your landscape. Read below to see why gravel is the landscaper’s best friend.

Soil Retention

Soil retention is important in a couple of areas. The first is among plants with shorter roots, like kale, spinach or the vast majority of flowering annuals. These have a weaker grasp on soil, so it is beneficial to have something like gravel or mulch in place to prevent erosion.

Another good idea is to place gravel around your drainage gutters, AC outtake pipes, water collectors, and other utilities that deal with constant flows of water. Gravel in those areas will help with soil retention. For steep banks that face erosion, choose large gravel to hold soil in place against erosion caused by rain.

Permeability

Due to being an aggregate of rock fragments, gravel quite permeable where water is concerned. This means that gravel has an edge over the other materials when it comes to hot summer or cold winters where heat expansion or cold contraction can cause ruptures with asphalt or concrete. Ice crystals that may negatively affect other substances will have a hard time being lodged in permeable gravel.

Non-Flammability

Gravel is not flammable, and that makes it an excellent material to put around fire sources in your outdoor property. Grills and fire pits are common in backyards, and keeping them surrounded with gravel will reduce the chances of accidentally catching the lawn on fire. In addition, the color of gravel can be a nice complement to the fires or cookware.