Making Your Garden Look Fantastic

Tips for Using Pea Gravel and Crushed Stone in Your Garden

1 December 2020

Philip Newman

Pea gravel and crushed stone provide excellent supplies with which to enhance and decorate your garden. To unlock their landscaping potential, consider the following tips.

What's the Difference?

Pea gravel and crushed stone are both rocks, but they become little stones in different ways. Pea gravel originates from places such as river beds and has smooth edges caused by natural running water. Pea gravel — in assorted colours such as grey, black, blue, green and many other hues — is approximately the size of a pea, as its name suggests. 

Crushed stone, on the other hand, begins as larger rock pieces which are machine-pulverised to create variable size stones with angular edges, not smoothed by organic weathering. Crushed stone is also available in diverse tones as many rock species go into the machines. 

Walking on Pea Gravel and Crushed Stone

You may wonder which to spread across your patio or outdoor area. You can use either, but they'll react differently when you walk or drive over the surface. Because of its rounded edges and small size, pea gravel can shift underfoot as the edges don't tend to interlock together. Crushed stone, conversely, doesn't typically move around as much because the angular stones tend to lock together somewhat and not roll around so freely. Pea gravel, though, provides a smoother surface if you intend to go barefoot.

Mulch

Both kinds of stones infuse a garden bed with lovely colours and textures if you use them as mulch. They'll both maintain warmer soil during winter, and an overlay of stones will dampen weeds, so you won't have to waste your leisure time on maintenance. During the summer, though, some rocks can absorb heat from the sun so check with your local garden suppliers to see which plants flourish in such conditions.

Containment of the Stone Areas

Whether you scatter small stones across a pathway or garden bed, you need to border the space with pavers, bricks or other elements to prevent the stones from flying everywhere. If the gravel is beside a lawn, take special care to divide the two regions, as you'll need to mow the lawn at some stage and you won't want stones in the grass.

Water Drainage

You can use gravel and crushed stone if your yard develops puddles after the rain, which can cause slippery accidents. Both offer excellent drainage, which is why they're used as a base for structures like retaining walls. In the watery trouble spot, you could establish a thick pathway of pea gravel or crushed stone for a safer walking area. If you have a deck, cover the ground underneath with stones to drain water to stop weed growth. 

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