Re: Progress on the garden wall/pea gravel

> From: Theresa <tchessie@comcast.net>
> I personally hate pea gravel- or for that matter pretty much any
gravel. I
> recall having to weed the gravel driveway whe I was a kid.  Was
entirely
> senseless, because new weeds/grass sprouted up the next day.
----------

Aw, Theresa, that just goes to show that plants like gravel:-)  I get
really tired of weeding our gravel drive; it is a continuous chore,
but I have found some treasures seeded into it that will not seed
into the beds where the parent plants are growing.

Gravel, like boggy spots, can turn into a major plus instead of being
a major pain if you put the right plants in there.

One of my favorite garden authors, Pamela Harper, covered a lawn area
with gravel and grows all sorts of very neat plants in it - it's her
gravel garden; of course in full sun, which I do not possess.

My garden guru, Beth Chatto, has part of her garden on naturally
occurring gravel many feet deep and has created an incredible garden
of drought resistant plants:

http://www.bethchatto.co.uk/gravel.html

Her book "The Dry Garden" tells all about it and the plants she grows
there...she's an excellent author as well as being a fantastic
plantswoman.

Your layers of landscape fabric would be a bit of a problem - or
could be - because many good drainage lovers are tap rooted so they
can take advantage of any moisture going.

Gravel does get hot on the top, but it is cool underneath, which is
what plants like.

If you decide to dig up the gravel where it is, don't get rid of it;
use it to amend clay soil to improve drainage and pick a little sunny
spot to try a bit of gravel gardening...bet you'll get hooked:-)

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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