In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mulch
 

Hi

We have just moved to a house in QLD.

We have lots of plants and flowers which are spread out in the flowerbeds, surrounded by bark mulch, to keep the weeds out (well some of them).

We are thinking of exchanging the mulch for those white small pebbles.

Is this a big job? How difficult is it? Is it exy?

Does anyon know of any useful websites that explain how to do it.

Cheers

J:thumbsup:

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

We bought our white pebbles from http://www.nuway.au.com they delivered and we just put them in place, well, paid someone to do the hard labour, but told them where to put them.

I don't see the pebbles that we had, on their website at the moment, but they were bright white and smooth.
If you buy them by the bag, they are MUCH more expensive that buying in bulk.

My wife has just pulled them out and put mulch in instead :unsure:

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

Those small white pebbles remind me of cat litter:lol:

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

We have the Mary river stone in the 10mm, this we find keeps the weeds to a bare minimum, we did have the round white pebbles at our last place but found as they were mostly round or oval there were small gaps where the weeds could come through even though it appeared totally covered there was an ares that I was always weeding or putting down weed killer. Now we have the smaller more like "pea shingle" this covers better. We have been in our house a year now and I probably pull 1 or 2 weeds out every month and I have never used any weed killer.
You can always lay a weed cloth down first then put the stones on top, this stops the weeds coming through but allows water to get into the soil.
In your area you can check out Tenkate nr the caloundra road Pelican waters roundabout or Buderim Landscape centre at the bottom of Crosby hill road or even Bellflower road landscaping supplies nr chancellor park, I used Buderim myself I found Tenkate a bit dearer. If you go to any of these at least you can see the stones for yourself in bulk not in bags, remember that they will probably be unwashed so ask for a bucket of water so you can see the different colours and effects from dry to wet stone.
When it comes to doing the job just measure the area you need to cover length x width x depth that you want them and let the supplier know your sizes and they will help to work out your quantity.
Get yourself a barrow and shovel (smaller stone easier to shovel) then spread the stones around in an even layer.

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

Sorry forgot to say If I remember correctly the price was around $70 a cubic metre.

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

Thanks for your replies they were really helpful.

Lewis2 - generally how deep should the pebbles be in your opinion for the best effect?

Cheers
J

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

I would say it depends on the type and size of stone, ours being the small mary river stone is all irregular shapes so it naturally fills any void, ours is about an 2 inches all over. Our other place which had the white pebbles was probably about the same but as previously said the weeds still found places to come through. I would not remove the bark mulch thats already there just level it off and place stones directly on top.
As you are in Pelican if you wish to come and look at ours fell free just PM me.

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

This was a useful thread for me.

With the under material - how do you find drainage. I am putting them in in a bed at the bottom of my garden but water collects there so I am wondering whether I should modify into a raised bed.

Would it attract more cane toads with the under material?

Viv

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

Hi Lewis2

Thanks for your info - in your opinion, if u put the pebbles on top of the existing mulch, would u still need a weed cloth??

Cheers

J:thumbsup:

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

I personally would not worry about the weed cloth as the small stones keep majority of the weeds out, I dont mind pulling a couple of weeds out once in a while. But have a look at the type of pebble you want to use ask the supplier (garden centre) if you can place a shovel full on the ground just to observe the size of spacing between the stones. They will probably think your mad but eh if your paying money for them I am sure they will oblige.:D

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

Have a look around and check levels with neighbors it could be all their water is running off into your garden. You could always dig a trench and lay a drainage pipe (plastic with holes) and drain it to a lower point then place shingle/gravel over the pipe and backfill.

These are olny my DIY opinions.

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

If you go to a landscape yard you can buy geotextile - a white non-woven cloth to use instead of the black weed mats. Put it immediately beneathe the gravel/pebbles. It's sold off the roll, 2m wide and is easily cut with scissors. It's much more effective than ordinary weed mat (no fraying)and is totally permeable to rain. If you have a steep bank you can use it to stabilise the surface by attaching with long thin U-shaped prongs and cutting holes around plants.

http://www.cobblepatch.com.au/diy/paving.html and check their price list (including bidim) for guidance.

Geotextile is called Bidim http://www.geofabrics.com.au/detailproduct.asp?pid=35

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

Do stones retain the moisture the same as mulch? By replacing mulch for stones won't you have to water your plants more often.

We have mulched all our flower beds and only have to water once a week unless we get rain.

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

The point is that both prevent evaporation and exposure to sun. Pebbles might actually be more efficient at this.

Re: In Oz, how to put white shingle ground cover in garden flowerbeds, instead of mul
 

I am really suprised at this as I would have thought that the mulch being wood would have absorbed moisture where as the stones wouldn't.