Gravel for a Garden Path

Creating a Gravel Garden Path

A gravel path provides an attractive, low-maintenance walkway through your garden that feels natural and complements most planting styles. A typical garden path measuring 6 metres long by 1 metre wide gives you 6 square metres of walking surface. At 75mm depth, which provides adequate coverage for foot traffic without being overly deep, you'll need approximately 0.45 cubic metres of decorative pebbles to create your path.

Half a cubic metre of decorative pebbles weighs approximately 675 kilograms. This modest quantity can often be picked up with a trailer if you have access to one, or delivered economically as part of a larger landscape order. The weight makes it manageable for spreading by hand with a wheelbarrow and rake.

Choosing Decorative Gravel

Garden paths offer the opportunity to use more attractive gravel varieties than functional driveways. Decorative pebbles come in colours ranging from warm cream and terracotta to cool greys and blue-greens. Consider how your chosen colour will complement your plants, your home's colour scheme, and any existing hardscape elements. Smaller pebble sizes of 7-14mm are generally more comfortable to walk on than larger stones.

Path Construction Basics

Start by marking out your path edges and installing some form of edging to contain the gravel. Steel garden edging, timber borders, or even recycled bricks work well. Excavate the path area to accommodate your gravel depth plus any base material. Lay landscape fabric beneath the gravel to prevent weed growth through the path. Spread and rake the gravel evenly, creating a slight crown or fall for drainage if the path runs through areas that might collect water.

Planning a curving or differently sized path? Use our main gravel calculator to work out each section.