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Gravel garden design and ideas

Gravel garden design means planting straight into gravel in place of a lawn or bare soil: loose drifts of lavender, grasses and silver plants with stone showing between them, and a path or a seat set into the same stone.

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First 3 designs free · No card

Gravel path past a cordyline, redesigned with the app

Gravel path past a cordyline

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19 real gravel garden ideas

19 pictures of gravel garden designs, and every one a real garden redesigned with the app. There are simple beds and paths, and gravel garden ideas with pots by a seat. Tap Before to see how it started, or Get this garden to try the look on yours.

Gravel flower bed ideas

Each gravel garden bed here was a lawn or bare ground, now planted with drifts of flowers, grasses and silver leaves. 8 gardens

A curved lawn edged with lavender, silver leaves and small conifers inside a white rail, a gravel garden idea

A curved lawn edged with lavender, silver leaves and small conifers inside a white rail

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A lawn edged with lavender, euphorbia and silver leaves under a lilac, a gravel garden idea

A lawn edged with lavender, euphorbia and silver leaves under a lilac

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See it as a gravel garden in about a minute.

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Gravel patio ideas

Gravel seating area ideas: a table among grasses, loungers by stepping stones, and a bench with pots where a deck used to be. 6 gardens

Add a photo of your garden

See it as a gravel garden in about a minute.

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Small gravel garden ideas

Small gravel gardens and front garden ideas with gravel: side strips, town gardens and the bed by the front door. 5 gardens

A bed by the front door of lavender, rosemary and an olive jar behind a sleeper rail, a gravel garden idea

A bed by the front door of lavender, rosemary and an olive jar behind a sleeper rail

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Add a photo of your garden

See it as a gravel garden in about a minute.

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How to design a gravel garden

The few ideas behind every garden above, and how to make a gravel garden of your own from them.

What makes a gravel garden

A gravel garden is planted, not paved. Stone takes the place of a lawn or bare soil, and plants grow up through it in loose drifts, with the stone showing between them. It suits sun-loving plants that hate sitting wet, because the stone keeps the base of each plant dry through the winter.

How to lay a gravel garden

Lift the grass or clear the weeds, dig grit into heavy soil, and plant first. Then spread the stone about 5 cm deep between the plants, tucking it round each one. Laid straight onto the soil, it lets the plants seed themselves about; a membrane underneath stops that and makes planting later harder.

Designing a gravel garden

Start with what stays: the patio, the fences and any trees. Let the stone run up to the patio edge, lay a line of slabs or stepping stones through it to a seat in the sun, and plant in drifts of the same few plants repeated, low silver mounds at the front and tall, see-through plants like verbena behind them.

Gravel garden plants →

Patios, pots and front gardens

A patio edge or a front garden is often the easiest place to start. Take up a strip of lawn or paving, plant lavender and grasses into the stone, and set a few pots on it: an agave, a clipped bay or a pot of herbs by the door.

Full sun border plants →

See it on your own garden first

Garden Design App builds a design around your actual garden. It reads a photo of your space, keeps your trees and fences where they are, and redesigns the ground as a gravel garden with plants you could genuinely grow.

From an idea to a plan you can plant

When one of the designs clicks, the Pro and Max plans turn it into a planting plan: every plant named, how big each grows and where each goes, with a month by month flowering calendar so the garden has something in flower from spring to autumn.

12 plants for a gravel garden

The plants that make the look, chosen for sun, dry roots and a habit of seeding into the stone.

  • Verbena bonariensis
  • Sea holly
  • Feather grasses
  • Mexican fleabane
  • Alliums
  • Lavender
  • Euphorbia
  • Sedum
  • Achillea
  • Catmint
  • Perovskia
  • Bearded iris

All gravel garden plants →

More gravel garden ideas

  • Pale gravel and flagstones in place of a lawn, with drifts of lavender and an olive tree in a terracotta pot

    A thinning lawn becomes pale gravel and flagstones, with drifts of lavender and an olive in a terracotta pot, in our replace lawn with gravel makeover.

  • A long garden of white gravel, with a path of grey slabs between rock roses and lamb's ears to a white pergola

    A long plot of grey gravel becomes a white gravel garden of rock roses and lamb's ears, with one slab path to a pergola, in our gravel path ideas makeover.

  • A winding gravel path through borders of roses, catmint and foxgloves

    A lawn beside a patio becomes a winding gravel garden path through borders of roses, catmint and foxgloves.

Other garden styles

Gravel garden design questions

Is a gravel garden a good idea?

In a sunny spot with soil that drains, yes. Lavender, grasses, sea holly and sedum all grow well through stone, and it gives you a planted garden where a tired lawn used to be. In a shady garden, a different style will look better.

Can you grow plants in just gravel?

Not in gravel alone. The stone is a layer about 5 cm deep on top of the soil, and each plant's roots grow down through it into the ground below.

What plants grow best in gravel?

Plants that like sun and dry roots: verbena bonariensis, sea holly, feather grasses, Mexican fleabane, alliums, lavender, euphorbia, sedum and catmint. Many of them seed themselves into the stone.

Can I just lay gravel on soil?

Yes. Clear the grass and weeds, firm the soil and spread the gravel about 5 cm deep. Laid straight onto soil, it lets plants seed into it. A membrane underneath stops that, and means cutting a hole for every new plant.

What is the Beth Chatto gravel garden?

One of the best known gravel gardens in Britain, made by the plantswoman Beth Chatto on an old car park at her garden in Essex. It has never been watered other than by rain, which shows what the right plants can do in a dry, sunny spot.

Can I see a gravel garden on my own garden?

Yes. Add a photo of your garden, choose the Mediterranean gravel style, and see your own garden redesigned in about a minute. Your trees, fences and house stay.

Are the plants real, and can I buy them?

Yes. With the Pro and Max plans every design names its plants: garden centre favourites and RHS Award of Garden Merit winners, chosen by a professional gardener, with how big each grows and where each goes.

Is it free?

Your first 3 designs are free, with no card needed. The Pro plan is £29 and the Max plan is £49, paid once, with nothing to cancel.

Can I try more than one gravel garden idea?

Yes. Make different designs and compare them on your own garden. Your first 3 are free, and Pro, one payment of £29, gives you 20 designs over 14 days, two at a time, so you can see several looks side by side.

Why does my redesign look like high summer?

We show your garden at its peak, in full flower, so you can see how full it can look. It is an artist's impression: your real garden changes through the seasons. Every paid design comes with a flowering calendar, so you know what flowers each month, and evergreen shapes help it look good in winter.

Picture your garden planted in gravel.

Try any of these gravel garden ideas on your own garden in about a minute. Your first 3 designs are free.

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