Think landscaping gravel look great in your yard? It does. Landscaping gravel works hard. Using it for drainage and structural support is a smart and eco-friendly way to create driveways, pipe bedding, and water management that’s rock solid. And it even works for more decorative functions, like flower beds and pathways.
Landscaping Gravel for Your Driveway
We highly recommend using Bluestone Gravel for a beautiful and functional driveway. Since it’s a crushed stone and easily diverts water, this gravel keeps your driveway from becoming a flooded mud pit.
Bluestone Gravel is more affordable than flat stone — and if you do it yourself, it’s easy to install and maintain. Want to change it down the road? You can easily pave right over. And Bluestone’s remarkable color, which comes from inland sea deposits made during its formation, will add beauty to your landscaping.
Landscaping Gravel for Pipe Bedding
For an easily accessible place to set your pipes, gravel is a smart choice. When you’re laying a perforated pipe that will carry water away, gravel will protect it from breaks and provide a drainage bed to keep water away. Use a stone suited for this purpose like Pea Gravel, River Wash, or Bluestone Gravel #57 or 3/8”.
Landscaping Gravel for Drainage
If you need to drain water in your yard, you can dig a hole where the water is accumulating and fill it with stones designed for drainage. Under a downspout works well. Use Pea Gravel, Bluestone Gravel, River Wash, or Surge Gray Stone. Ideally, you’ll install another method to divert excess water — either a dry well or drainage pipe to carry water away as well.
Landscaping Gravel for Flower Beds
Gravel can bring your plants to life. With their neutral colors as background, you’ll see the plants and trees they surround practically pop out of their beds.
Landscaping gravel also provides much-needed drainage so that water doesn’t collect around the roots. Gravel and stone are easy to spread and easy to maintain. Just put down a weed block or plastic covering first to inhibit weed growth. Spread rocks to the required depth and level with a tamper or block of wood.
Landscaping Gravel for Pathways
For pretty pathways that resist mud and can curve in any shape you imagine, use gravel beds with sand or pavers. Crushed stone walkways look great in every environment and provide lasting beauty with little maintenance.
You can create walkways with smaller stones that crunch underfoot and wind or flow straight. For a dramatic combination, fit larger stones like river rock with smaller stones like pea gravel in a different color. River rocks can also define edges, create height, make edges flexible for gentle curves, and hold materials in place, as well as divert water.
If you replenish the crushed stone and sand every few years, it will serve you for decades.
Make the path at least 36” wide so two people can comfortably travel it together. Whatever you do, have fun with the shape and try to include interesting elements like plantings or decorative landscaping pieces along the way.
Get creative with gravel and stone. You’ve got ideas and we’ve got solutions. In the Northern Virginia and Maryland areas, we can deliver a variety of gravel and stone direct to your driveway. Delivery is FREE.
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