If you’re in the middle of landscaping your garden or have just moved in and are dealing with a wild garden that needs reconfiguring, you may have an excess of paving slabs and gravel.
Once you’ve got your pavers and gravel up from where they were, it’s time to figure out what you can do with them. Do you pay for removal or try to reuse them in the garden? We prefer the latter as a genius sustainable garden idea.
We’ve spoken to our gardening experts to see what they can suggest, and they have some easy, practical ideas.
1. Make an insect habitat
Have you always wanted to create a bug hotel for your wildlife garden but haven’t got round to it – here’s the moment!
Lucie Bradley, gardening and greenhouse expert at Easy Garden Irrigation explains, ‘To help turn your garden into a haven for these helpful bugs and create a self-sustaining ecosystem you can recycle leftover pavers and gravel in order to create areas in your garden where they can bask in the sun, shelter and hibernate over winter’
Pick a quiet, sheltered, shady corner of your garden says Lucie, ‘Place a random, off-centre short stack of pavers to create a structure full of gaps and spaces for ground beetles, woodlice etc to shelter.’
If you want to use a wooden bug hotel, then you can use the pavers and gravel. ‘They are used to form a firm ‘foundation’ which will prevent wood from rotting as well as leaving some shady spots for some insects to hibernate in.’
We love Amazon’s large wooden bug hotel, currently £21.20. It’s the ideal size to be mounted on pavers.
2. Use rubble to fill large planters
‘You can use rubble when filling large planters, but it can take up space that plant roots need, and it can affect the soil moisture,’ advises Richard Barker, horticultural expert and commercial director of LBS Horticulture.
Care is required to make this work properly; the planter needs to be large so there’s enough space, and you need to check a couple of things first. Richard explains, ‘Check that any rubble you are using does not contain lime, as this can sometimes leach into the soil and alter the pH, which can be very damaging if you are growing acid-loving plants. Ensure that the rubble is not blocking any of the planter’s drainage holes, as this can cause waterlogging.’
Another great tip from Richard is to place a layer of permeable landscaping fabric between the rubble and the soil if using rubble in a planter. ‘This will prevent soil from falling into the gaps between the pieces of rubble, stopping it from potentially clogging drainage holes.’
Check out the GroundMaster 1m x 10m heavy-duty weed control membrane to pop in your pot if you try this method, £9.99, Amazon.
3. Create a path
This is a great way to use up pavers and gravel. We spoke to Julian Palphramand, head of plants at British Garden Centres, for his advice.
‘Old pavers and gravel don’t have to go straight to the skip. If the slabs are in good shape, they can be reused for creating DIY paths, edging or small hardstanding areas, and broken pieces or surplus gravel can often be taken to a local recycling centre or used as hardcore where appropriate.’
Lucie agrees, ‘If you only want to create a narrow edging, then you can tip the pavers on their sides – this works well when recycling broken pavers – sinking them into the ground around the edge of your lawn to create a definitive border around flower beds.’
Amazon’s Neilsen steel scutch hammer is ideal for this, £10.99, and made from alloy steel.
4. Garden zones
Similar to designing zones within your home, you can also design similar spaces in your garden. These can be achieved by the materials you use, and this is where your leftover pavers and gravel can be put to work.
‘Excess or recycled gravel can be used to create a simple band around curved flower beds, with the gravel both defining the growing space as well as practically helping to prevent weeds from transitioning from lawns into borders or vice versa, as well as providing great drainage,’ says Lucie.
Create curves with B&Q’s Hardys grass lawn edge border edging tool, now £10.63. It will give a sharp, straight edge.
5. Place them around a pond
We love this genius idea that will work better with broken pavers close to the edge and some of the gravel, too.
Lucie explains how to achieve this great reuse: ‘Pavers are great for overhanging the edge of the pond by a couple of centimetres, creating natural shadows around the edge and helping to hide the liner – just be careful that you don’t have sharp edges to the pavers. If you are using paver pieces, then you can fill in gaps with gravel, and the immediate space between paver and lawn/soil can be divided by a space of gravel to help prevent the spread of weeds or runoff.’
Use good quality building sand and cement to keep them in place – a ratio of 5 or 6 parts sand to 1 part cement will create the right mix. Amazon’s mortar, cement and sand ready-to-use mix is ideal, £8.99 for a 5kg bag.
Shopping essentials for getting rid of pavers and gravel
Neo 65 Litre Wheelbarrow with Galvanised Pneumatic Tyre
Use a sturdy wheelbarrow to help move your pavers and gravel about. This design is galvanised with a pneumatic tyre and soft handles. It can take up to 200kg.
Pavel Puller Tool, 7 Inch
If your pavers need a helping hand to get them removed then use these handy paver puller tools that are made of high quality stainless steel. The V-tip helps you to pry the pavers up and out.
Sifting Shovel with 12mm Mesh with Welded Frame
If you’re reusing your gravel you might need to sift it to remove any debris and soil. This handy sifter can also be used for taking out any bits and bobs from your soil.
These expert garden ideas will hopefully give you some inspiration to use your pavers and gravel again and again, instead of throwing them out.
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