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Gravel advice
Matt_
Posts: 49
Hi all,
Next big thing for our house is a new drive. Currently its half old tarmac and half old wonky concrete slabs and looks shameful. I can't afford nice paving or bonded resin so the replacement will be edged tarmac or gravel. I'd rather have gravel, but overhanging much of the drive is a large mature common lime (I think), which drops a lot of debris and obviously leaves in autumn.
My question is if anyone has any experience of having a gravel drive under similar trees, and how difficult it is to keep it clean and weed free? I don't mind raking it once a every now and then and a little more in autumn, but don't want much more than that. We've tried to get the tree pollarded to reduce the amount it drops (and help the tree's health as its got one or two obvious dead branches), but there's a TPO and the application was rejected.
Looking forward to making space for some plants!
Next big thing for our house is a new drive. Currently its half old tarmac and half old wonky concrete slabs and looks shameful. I can't afford nice paving or bonded resin so the replacement will be edged tarmac or gravel. I'd rather have gravel, but overhanging much of the drive is a large mature common lime (I think), which drops a lot of debris and obviously leaves in autumn.
My question is if anyone has any experience of having a gravel drive under similar trees, and how difficult it is to keep it clean and weed free? I don't mind raking it once a every now and then and a little more in autumn, but don't want much more than that. We've tried to get the tree pollarded to reduce the amount it drops (and help the tree's health as its got one or two obvious dead branches), but there's a TPO and the application was rejected.
Looking forward to making space for some plants!
0
Posts
The chippings are quite large and heavy and I find I can use a garden leaf sucker to pick up leaves and general debris.
The chippings are too heavy to get sucked up, but the leaves and twigs all get sucked into the bag.
I previously had ordinary gravel, but that did get sucked up.
A spring tine rake also does a good job.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Any experience of "stabilised gravel"? Meaning gravel with that plastic mesh in it to stop it moving around. Recommended or pointless on a level site?
That was a year or so ago and I see that the chippings have remained in place and I can't see any of the battens poking through either.
At the entrance to their drive, they filled a number of the 1m squares with stamped concrete with a wide 'grout' of the chippings. It looks really smart.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Since cost is a factor, and paving is out of the option.. what about those plastic grid things for driving over that let grass grow up through? Obviously where you drive most will be dirt.. but the rest can just be mowed over to mulch up leaves and make for easy maintenance.