Reasons to choose gravel for driveways and garden paths

The vernacular favourite offers charm as well as challenges, writes Kya deLongchamps who has advice on installation and maintenance

Paying for a professional install is worth consideration for a larger driveway. File pictures

I’m a bit of a suburban snoop. Let’s call it research. Uninterrupted, hard landscaping without a single break to grass is lapping against the public pavements of a majority of our urban neighbourhoods. Cobblelock, slabs, impressed concrete and bruised black tar macadam — it’s handsome, practical stuff. What I don’t notice very often is the formerly popular use of gravel, and many of us will only feel the yield of gravel when approaching a church or visiting a grand house open to the public. 

Let’s look at the charm and challenges of this vernacular favourite.