2
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
2 points (100.0% liked)
No Lawns
2035 readers
1 users here now
What is No Lawns?
A community devoted to alternatives to monoculture lawns, with an emphasis on native plants and conservation. Rain gardens, xeriscaping, strolling gardens, native plants, and much more! (from official Reddit r/NoLawns)
Have questions or don't know where to begin?
- You can check our website
- Or our Reddit wiki
- Our FAQ
- Resources by Country
- Resources by US State
- Doug Tallamy AMA
Where can you find the official No Lawns socials?
Rules
- Be Civil
- Don't dox yourself
- Stay on Topic
- Don't break instance or Lemmy rules
Related Communities
- NativePlantGardening - Mander
- NativePlantGardening - Sh.itJust.Works
- Composting - SlrPnk
- Nature and Gardening - Beehaw
- Reclamation - SlrPnk
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
I don't want to be too negative but I have strong feelings about this. Gravel has a lot of downsides, to the extent that it makes me wonder if it's actually better than the lawns it is replacing.
Some downsides I've noticed:
It gets extremely hot in the sun. There is little functional difference in this respect from pavement which we all know gets extremely hot. For cooler climates this may not be as much of an issue, but with climate change it is something to consider for most environs.
It has negative effect on plant health. The heat mentioned above is a major factor in hot climates, and over time, as it incorporates into the soil, it can create a barrier to root growth as well. Some plants tolerate gravelly soils well but not all do.
It's difficult to maintain in practice. This may surprise some, as it's permanent and interferes with weed growth, but my issue with it is that any amount of detritus or material becomes extremely visible against the uniform background of most gravels, and consequently, most people feel a need to spend a large amount of time keeping it spotless. Most other common ground covers can absorb some leaves and other small materials without looking too messy.
It has very little benefit as invertebrate habitat. Every other ground cover aside from maybe plastic creates some kind of useful habitat for invertebrates, including grass, mulch, low shrubs, even just bare dirt.
Finally, once you've recognized the problems your landscape has created, you may want to remove it. This is yet another issue, as gravel is extremely labor intensive to remove due to its permanency, weight, and ability to mix with the soil and plant roots. The previous owners of my house had a very minimal gravel border separating a patio from planting beds, and it's still causing issues when I want to plant things years later, despite my efforts to remove it.
Personally, I think mulch is vastly superior for any planting areas. It can also be used for paths, or DG is more visually similar to gravel without as many of the downsides.