Despite often being overlooked, decorative gravel is a truly versatile material that’s worth incorporating into your next landscaping project if you’re looking to make an impactful yet affordable change.
Alongside similar aggregate materials like slate chippings, pebbles and small decorative stones, gravel is a popular pick for transforming driveways, paths, and borders in a way that’s accessible for gardening beginners and experts alike.
Essentially just loose fragments of rock, there are lots of different types of decorative gravel and chippings — each better suited to certain tasks and environments. Consisting of small and rounded quartz stones, pea gravel is affordable and versatile, so it is unsurprisingly one of the most popular aggregates. However, it’ll need regular raking and redistribution if used on pathways and patios as it can be rather messy. It also doesn’t provide a very stable surface for garden furniture. Alternatively, angular-shaped stones and limestone chippings are pretty comfortable to walk on, and generally stay where they’re put.
Feeling inspired to do some DIY landscaping with decorative gravel? Whether you’re adding an eye-catching dressing of bright white stones to your borders and outdoor pots and planters, creating a Mediterranean-style textured patio, or laying a meandering path that provides that satisfying ‘crunch’ underfoot, there are endless ways to use decorative gravel, chippings, slate, and stones in your garden.
Shop the best cheap gravel below
Stylish Stone Cotswold Stone
Light and earthy, these creamy white limestone chippings feel like the perfect ground cover for a Mediterranean-inspired garden, patio, or pathway interspersed with stepping stones. To fully embrace the rustic aesthetic, fill any beds and borders with fragrant rosemary, pretty agapanthus, and ornamental grasses and display pretty lavender plants in a mismatch of terracotta pots.
Buy now £8.00, Homebase
Suburban Stone Gravel Trade Pack Flamenco
Made up of a mix of brightening pinks, greys and whites, these natural stone gravel chippings will add a modern finishing touch to most general landscaping projects. As well as being a lovely addition to beds and borders, they’re great for ground cover and filling gaps between patio slabs and stepping stones. Plus, they’re also safe to use around ponds and water features.
Buy now £9.97, Travis Perkins
Blooma Pastel Pink Decorative Stones
Ideal for adding warmth and a really subtle wash of colour, these small decorative stones boast natural pastel pink undertones — and they’re even more vibrant when wet. Super versatile, they’re perfect for decorating the top of plant pots, brightening up a border, and even filling a front garden or pretty patio area.
Buy now £13.00, B&Q
Stylish Stone Premium Quartzite Pea Gravel
Made from a hard-wearing blend of subtly shiny quartzite pebbles in warm and rich harvest tones, this gorgeous pea gravel makes a gorgeous crunching sound when walked over. A fitting choice of ground cover for a courtyard garden inspired by classic French country design, add in a quaint bistro set and an elegant water fountain to play into this romantic aesthetic.
Buy now £8.00, Homebase
Suburban Stone Black Basalt Decorative Aggregate
A type of volcanic rock that’s often used in landscaping projects, basalt gravel is famous for being incredibly durable, hard-wearing, and resistant to weeds, so it’s guaranteed to keep its sophisticated and pristine appearance for years to come. As a whole, it stays put and compacts well. This makes it a great pick for everything from covering a busy driveway, to filling in the gaps between stone slabs. Plus, although it’s dark grey when dry, it turns an intense matte black when wet.
Buy now £4.00, Wickes
Blooma White 15-25mm Rounded Pebbles
Made from elegant marble, these unique little pebbles will make a bold addition to any garden or patio border — and also look stunning when simply used as a decorative topper for outdoor planters and pots. Robust and reflective, they’ll glow even brighter after the UK’s inevitable downpours, and sparkle when the sunlight hits them, so they’re guaranteed to add a little gleam and glimmer to even the gloomiest of days.
Buy now £13.00, B&Q
Stylish Stone Golden Gravel
Made from all-natural, flint-shaped gravel chips in a mix of sandy gold and yellow, gleaming cream and soft brown hues, this golden gravel is warm and summery in appearance and helps to brighten up any garden or outdoor space.
Bold and bright in the sunshine, and super shiny after rainfall, it’s a really stunning aggregate to incorporate into your next landscaping project.
Buy now £8.00, Homebase
