Shingle/gravel as mulch?

[CapriceDeDieux]

I have a boarder that was briefly pretty in a sort of cottage garden style, but 5 years on very little has survived (slugs,snails and weather have done for most things) and there are now some large gaps. It gets quite hot and dry in the summer as it faces south. It now seems to be being taken over by various weeds.

i would like to improve the look a bit with a layer of shingle/gravel. Currently the surviving plants are a well established tree peony, an ornamental poppy, and some Rosanne geraniums. At the back against the fence are a climbing rose and an esplanaded pear tree and a solanum. I am going to add an oleander which will tolerate the heat well, but am i going to make things worse with a gravel mulch? I was hoping it would help with snails and weed suppression, but worried it will be too hot for the other plants. Also i don't want to use a weed fabric (they always seem to poke through) but i do want to improve the soil first. Any thoughts?

Composted bark would work well as it will help retain moisture in the ground and it will also act as a soil improver as it breaks down into the soil. I'm not particularly familiar with gravel as a mulch, but I do know it has to be a good few inches deep, and that weed seeds will germinate in pretty much anything so it wouldn't be great at weed suppression.

Maybe this summer you could visit some open gardens which have 'dry gardens' or mediterranean planting areas, to give you some inspiration.

Have you got a rosemary? That would do well in those conditions.

I agree that gravel has a problem with weeds coming up - the drive in my new house a case in point.

However I find hand weeding very therapeutic. Is the border size manageable for this.

I can't see why it wouldn't work well as a mulch - a thick layer of gravel will protect the soil just as any type of mulch does while allowing rain to permeate. You'll get self seeders in it, but they're easy enough to pull out if they're not wanted. I would prepare the area first getting rid of any perennial weeds and planting whatever you want to plant before adding the gravel. I agree with you about weed fabric: horrible stuff!

Neighbours used fine gravel on their parking area and the local cats love it. Neighbours are constantly scooping up cat poo.
Also as per PPs, the weeds will find a way.

Can you go for a ground cover like helianthemum, yellow archangel (dead nettle) or periwinkle?

Which weeds are growing? It's an indication that conditions are suitable for plants to grow, even if they're not the ones you want. Can you 'curate' any of the weeds and keep some? I declare war on certain weeds (dandelions, green alkanet) but leave others because they're basically free plants (herb robert). You can't eradicate weeds so you may as well select which ones you're willing to tolerate.

As for shingle/gravel, I have it on weed control fabric and there's no way I'd put it on bare soil. Even on weed control fabric, some weeds will grow through the fabric, or in the shingle itself after organic matter accumulates on top of the fabric. At some stage you'll need to rake the shingle around to 'clean' it of organic matter, which is doable when it's on weed control fabric but it would be more difficult to separate shingle from soil. If you do choose shingle or gravel, I would suggest pea shingle, as it isn't sharp when handling it while weeding, plus it's large enough not to pass through a garden sieve when needing to freshen it up.

Bark chippings could be a good idea (you used to be able to get a smaller size for flower beds, rather than the standard big size for paths) but it will eventually rot down and you'll have a lovely layer of organic matter ripe for more unwanted plants. If you want something fairly temporary while you decide what else to plant, bark chippings are probably the best thing. If you want to remove shingle/grave in future, it will be heavy and you'll need somewhere to store it or dispose of it. Whereas bark chipping will eventually break down.

The only downside of any mulch is watering - when rain is scarce what little rain there is will wet the mulch and not get into the ground. So you may need to rethink your watering regime to ensure water gets under the mulch.

Re: watering, that's where gravel shines as a mulch material - it will not soak up rain, allowing water to permeate to the soil beneath.

Love the advice to curate the weeds. I have loads of white herb robert in the garden and it's so pretty.

We have gravel on our pathways and they still get weeds poking through even though weed suppression cloth has been laid beneath it, so I doubt that gravel alone on a bed would be sufficient for keeping the weeds at bay.

So many good points made. Thank you. Its bigger than pea gravel and i have it on a few areas but not where i have established plants. We have a dog so cats are not an issue - and hoping the stones are too large - but i take the point!

rosemary (and lavenders) are good suggestions too.

The weeds are Spanish blue bells, sticky willy (!) and a very irritating creeping thing, common violet and crab grass. I absolutely
for keeping weeds - i have a wild/woodland bit under the cherry tree at the end of this boarder with brunnera, three cornered leaks and honesty- but boy are they self seeders. I am more worried about heat and salty/sandiness upsetting the existing plants I think.

i am not keen on the look of bark chippings and have had issues with mould and woodlice and tiny slugs before.

i went to Hampton Court RHS show a couple of years ago and tgere were several Beth Chatto style gardens - but tge plants were specifically drought tolerant and tgat isn't what i have atm.

The creeping weed turns out to be creeping Cinqfoil and the bugloss maybe green alkanet -

Weeds are much easier to pull out without weed membrane. I have a gravel path without membrane and the weeds pull out much more easily than they do in soil.

You might need to check what sort of rock the gravel consists of and whether it is likely to affect the pH of the soil. You're not going to want a load of limestone chippings on a flower bed with lime-haters in it, for instance.

Spanish bluebells and green alkanet have deep bulbs/tap roots so you might be better not covering the bed until you've dug them out.

I second the idea of digging out the green alkanet at least. I have Spanish bluebells in my gravel path and tbh I enjoy the flowers and then pull the stems and leaves out.

I think this is right and that will be the weekend job. if I can have a good go at clearing it, improve soild round the exsiting plants and then put down (washed) pebbles. I maaay be ok.

Exactly! But then I wonder why there is 75% more the next year!

Gravel doesn't break down - you end up with stony soil

You are so write, but there is an exception. - dandylions

I agree, but we have very heavy London clay, so it's not the end of the world

I use a hori hori to get dandelions out, no problem!

and if you're not disturbing the bed too often once it's planted up, there would be minimal migration of gravel into the soil. Just carefully scrape it back if you do need to plant/divide/move things.

Agree this is an issue. I'd either use something like bark, or larger stones, or if set on gravel use a membrane first.

Also write! I meant right. 😳

I would love a hori hori, but also quite temoted by those grabber things

Just to say this is the gravel/shingles/stones I am using: Altico Tweed Pebbles: https://www.robertdyas.co.uk/altico-scottish-tweed-pebbles-bulk-bag?cq_src=google_ads&cq_cmp=22794107493&cq_term=&cq_plac=&cq_net=x&cq_plt=gp&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22799963648&gbraid=0AAAAACf0mw15AiN5TXqwDi648PNpXsuar&gclid=CjwKCAjwhqfPBhBWEiwAZo196nfW34h3u9C6cPwoQe_tmOq7NgRJ8pX69J_Ioh5G28TFWvBbLQv3jBoC5yMQAvD_BwE

(not at that price though)

I think it'll look lovely 😊