BOUND GRAVEL

Gravel is definitely a Marmite material – some hate the way it migrates from one area to another. But bound gravel is more popular – this is fixed in place to a far greater extent. The type I use most is Breedon Golden Amber Gravel (breedonspecial-aggregates.co.uk). It is not the most fixed of all bound gravels, but high heels don’t sink into it and you can ride bikes and wheelchairs over it.

This naturally occurring gravel comes from a quarry in Derbyshire. It contains marl or clay particles, with 10mm and smaller angular pieces of stone. When laying, it is rolled while being sprayed with water so the clay particles rise to the top and set. It is a “hard” surface but looks soft.

My back terrace (left) is laid in bound gravel with an edging of flags – in all stone it would look too austere. Last weekend I refreshed it after many years. I scraped off the top inch or so and wet-rolled down some more. It now looks as fresh as a daisy.

I popped into a beer garden at Charters in Peterborough (on a barge by the river) where we designed the garden 15 years ago. We have just been asked to enlarge it. I was amazed at the state of the Breedon gravel that we laid. It has not been maintained, apart from regular sweeps for cigarette ends, and despite heavy use (live music, riverside setting, great ales) it looks in pretty good fettle.

Breedon gravel is also good for vehicular use. Its down side, for some, is that you do get a few loose chippings and if you track over it with muddy boots it can look messy. It can’t be hand-weeded, as this breaks the surface, but herbicides are fine. At Althorp (Diana, Princess of Wales’ childhood home), we laid it on a slope of 1:15, the steepest you can lay it to. Other forms of bound gravel include resin bonded gravel, the hexagon grid system and “tar and chip”.