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The Pros and Cons of Incorporating Landscape Gravel to Your Backyard Design

Xeriscaping is popular for Arizona landscapes, and for good reason. The use of rocks and gravel to decorate a landscape is much easier to maintain than trying to grow grass in the desert. But even if you don’t want to cover your whole property with rocks and gravel, you may want to incorporate the stone into areas of your landscape, either for decoration or for weed control. Here are some of the pros and cons of incorporating landscape gravel into your backyard design:

Pros

It Doesn’t Decompose

Mulch is a popular option for weed control and for defining the areas around garden beds and other planted areas. However, mulch decomposes. In just a few months, the mulch will start to become part of the soil, and you will have to replace it. Not only is this time-consuming, but it is also expensive. Gravel and stone do not decompose so quickly. It will eventually break down, as all materials will, but the stone will last long past your own lifetime. You can put the stone in place and know that it will do its job and won’t need to be replaced unless you want a new look for your landscape.

It Doesn’t Attract Pests

When mulch breaks down, it attracts all kinds of nasty pests,

including termites that can damage your home. Even if you use treated mulch, it will attract pests. The benefit of using landscape gravel is that it doesn’t attract pests. Some bugs like to hide out under the rocks, but if they don’t have a food source, they aren’t going to stick around.

It’s Durable

You have many options for ground cover for your landscape, such as decorative grasses and low-lying plants and vines. However, if the ground cover is anywhere near your foot traffic, they can easily get trampled and be killed off. If you have pets, they can also inflict major damage on ground cover. Landscape gravel will stand up to any kind of traffic – no matter how many people or pets. You can even drive on it without any trouble.

Minimal Maintenance is Required

Ground cover requires constant maintenance, including weeding it, fertilizing it, and trimming it. Even mulch has to be refreshed regularly and weeded more than you’d like. You don’t have to do any of that with landscape gravel. As long as you lay down a thick enough layer, you shouldn’t have to weed it. You don’t need to replace it or refresh it either. You can spread it and forget about it.

Cons

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It Can Cause Injuries

You must be careful when you are mowing your lawn around landscape gravel or you are edging your beds. Your lawnmower blade or string trimmer can pick up a piece of rock and fling it at high speeds. That flying piece of rock can seriously injure someone in your family or a pet, or it can shatter a window or damage your property. You will need to be careful to keep the gravel contained and to steer clear of it when you are mowing your lawn.

It Can Sink into the Soil

Landscape gravel may not decompose, but it can disappear into the soil, nevertheless. The more foot traffic around the area, the more likely the gravel is to sink into the soil. You will then need to refresh the gravel. If you decide to plant in that area later, you may have trouble doing so since the soil will have become rocky.

It Absorbs Heat

You don’t need to do anything to attract more heat in Arizona. Instead, you are likely finding yourself working hard to find ways to stay cool. Landscape gravel and other stone absorbs heat during the day, and the stone can raise the temperature around your home if you have enough of it. There aren’t many disadvantages to using landscape gravel, but there are quite a lot of advantages. If you are planning a landscape remodel, you should think about incorporating landscape gravel into your design. You will lower your maintenance and create a gorgeous look for your landscape. Visit a Mesa stone supply company to learn about your options for landscape gravel and make the right selection for your project. Centurion Stone is a Mesa stone supplier with all the options you need to remodel your landscape. We sell landscape gravel, natural stone pavers, and much more. You can find stones in a variety of looks and sizes to fit whatever needs or preferences you have for your new landscape design. You can work with one of our stone experts to get tailored advice on the right stone for your project. You can buy the stone only, or you can get our technicians to install the stone for you. Visit us or call us today to find the stone you need for your landscaping project.