Designing With Texture: How to Use Sand and Gravel for Visual Interest in Landscaping

Part of designing a good landscape is playing with the colors and textures of sand and gravel. While you can accomplish this in various ways, using sand and gravel is often a straightforward and flexible way. Here’s how you can try it for yourself.

Designing Your Garden With Sand and Gravel

Grass and soil have their own charm, but relying on them as a landscaping element for gardening is not always ideal. Try adding some sand or gravel for variety. If you’re using gravel, use a mixture of light and dark stones to get an even more striking effect.

Creating Pathways

Gravel and sand can make excellent paths, with gravel often being the better choice. It’s also simple to do yourself; you only need a shovel to dig a few inches and lay the gravel on top. Rake it into place so it’s even, and you have a fast path and an exciting new visual element.

Using It to Border or Section Off Elements

You can often use sand and gravel around things like garden beds or water features to create some separation between different landscaping elements. It looks great and highlights the feature, making it pop against whatever else is around it.

Enhancing Water Features

Water features work beautifully with sand and gravel, but it’s particularly striking with sand because it has a more organic feel. Using it between the water feature and a patch of vibrant green grass is even better.

Using Gravel With Retaining Walls

Gravel often finds its niche as a decorative element for retaining walls. Incorporating gravel with the retaining wall looks great. Also, it provides an extra function as a backfill, which will help with water drainage.

Building Your Own Zen Garden

Sand is vital if you want to build a zen garden, but using a little bit of gravel also works wonders. High-quality sand is an ideal backdrop for a peaceful, open, natural garden.

Building a Permeable Driveway

Gravel is a fantastic choice for a driveway base, especially if you live in areas where the temperature gets below freezing. It’s much less expensive than other options and still looks great against a lot of greenery.

Try These Tips For Yourself With Tigard Sand & Gravel

Are you feeling inspired to use gravel or sand on your landscape canvas? Buy only the best-looking and highest-quality landscaping materials from the professionals at Tigard Sand & Gravel. Contact us today to learn more.