Garden design is vitally important to creating a space that provides respite from the storm of everyday life. The words “garden” and “yard” are both derived from an Old English word for “enclosure,” implying an area where you feel safe and protected. This concept of a garden as a secure, inviolate place is universal.
When I first learned about a book titled “The Gravel Garden” (Timber Press, 2026), I thought it might have something to do with Japanese gardens where gravel is utilized to represent the ocean. Gravel surrounds boulders that suggest the islands of Japan and plants are pruned into discrete shapes since that is how the natural landscape appears when viewed from afar.
Yet instead of a visit to Japan, this book took me on a worldwide tour of flourishing gardens where a thick layer of gravel had been deposited on top of the soil. The two main benefits of this type of garden are increased drought tolerance and, after a couple of years, the absence of weeds. Initially, existing weed seeds in the soil below may still germinate and poke through the gravel.
Authored by Jeff Epping and Theresa Woodard, the former tells the story of how he removed his front lawn and replaced it with 4-5 inches of gravel. He advises using gravel that is 1/4-3/8 inch in size, whether angular quartzite or pea gravel. The problem with larger gravel pieces is that their pores collect organic matter in which weed seeds can germinate. Install plants from 3 and 1/2 to 4 and 1/2 inch containers, along with bulbs, at 12-16 inches on center. Note: “On center” refers to the distance between any plant and those that surround it.
The plant palette Epping suggests consists of ornamental grasses and flowering perennials such as beardtongue (Penstemon spp.), tickseed (Coreopsis spp.), coneflower (Echinacea spp.), yarrow (Achillea spp.), milkweed (Asclepias spp.), and pink (Dianthus spp.) Incidentally, the reason Dianthus is known as pink has nothing to do with its flower color, although it may be pink. The word refers to pinking shears, saw-toothed scissors used in cutting a serrated edge on fabrics to prevent threads from unraveling. And, yes, as you would surmise, Dianthus flower petals do have serrated edges.
Succulents and cacti are eminently suitable for a gravel garden. When it comes to woody shrubs and trees, evergreen shrubs and conifers are the best candidates since their litter is minimal compared to deciduous plants. Before new growth emerges in the spring, grasses and flowering perennials should be cut back to a height of 12-18 inches. Absent this practice, organic matter will build up on the gravel, under and around plants, leading to weed seeds finding a comfortable germination substrate. The author is meticulous in removing any remaining litter with a cordless electric leaf blower.
Gravel gardens are meant for full sun. As for fertilization of gravel gardens, we read: “Most plants perform better without fertilizers, which cause them to grow too tall and flop.”
After planting, you will initially have to water more than in conventional gardens. The reason for this is that the soil in the small root balls that interface with the gravel is the sole source of moisture for the developing plants. You need to water them as if they were still in their little containers. Over time, however, once roots reach the soil beneath the gravel, their demand for water will be significantly less than if they were growing in soil alone. Keep in mind that gravel gardens are meant for full sun exposure. A bonus of gravel is the proclivity of plants to self-sow when situated in it.
“The New Garden Designer’s Handbook” (Timber Press, 2026), by Daryl Beyers, holds the hand of the reader ready to embark on an adventure in garden design. Six garden design principles are brought forward as follows:
Contrast. This can be achieved by the juxtaposition of incongruous shapes, textures, or colors. You could plant a row of symmetrically pruned boxwood, for example, interspersed with a feathery and reddish-purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum var. Rubrum). Ferns planted beside selections with smooth, iridescent foliage such mirror plant (Coprosma spp.) would be another example of this, as would a yellow-flowering perennial such as Marguerite daisy (Argyranthemum sp.) in the middle of an expanse of trailing purple lantana (Lantana montevidensis).
Harmony. This is the opposite of contrast. Here, you bring together flowers that border each other on the color spectrum, such as pink, red, and purple, which can be achieved with roses, for example. Yes, there is a purple rose and it’s called Ebb Tide, a hybrid developed by Tom Carruth, who is curator of the rose garden at the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino. This rose is not only plum-purple but has the fragrance of cloves. It is a floribunda, so expect it to flower from spring until frost. For an especially soothing effect, go green, selecting plants that display foliage with different shades of green for the ultimate vegetative harmony.
Scale. This concerns using plants that fit the structures and hardscape features adjacent to them. For example, you do not want to plant redwoods next to a one-story house since, in time, these trees will tower over it. Then again, you will not plant dwarf shrubs along the front of a house so that the exterior facade of the house is completely visible. Adhere to the two-thirds rule: If a house is thirty feet tall, install a planter twenty feet in front of it with shrubs or a medium-sized tree, or if a fence is six feet tall, your flower bed should be planted four feet inside it.
Balance. This is where plants are symmetrically or asymmetrically arranged in a manner that appeals to our sense of order. Symmetrical balance is achieved when two trees of the same kind are planted on the two corners of the front of a building or on either side of an entrance. Asymmetrical balance occurs when different plants are installed on either side of an entry with a crape myrtle tree (Lagerstroemia indica), growing 25 feet tall, on one side, with three Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica var. Springtime), which grow to six feet, on the other. Even though the Indian hawthorns are shorter, their overall bulk at maturity will match that of the crepe myrtle.
Mass. The element of mass refers to the color and density of plants. If there is too little or too much mass, the garden may be visually deficient. For example, an extensive bed of flowers or ornamental grasses or even shrubs with colorful foliage may seem rather lightweight and not focus your attention as it would if two Italian cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens) or silvery-blue Arizona cypresses (Cupressus arizonica) were planted in it. The solidity of the conifers would provide the anchored vision that makes us feel at peace.
Pattern. Pattern refers to the sequencing of certain flowers or colors in a repetitive way. Alternating red and pink geraniums would be an example of this, especially if it were continued on both sides of an entrance and, in the same garden, on either side of a walkway. A pattern may be especially powerful on a slope where the juxtaposition of two or three plants in a pattern can make this topographical planting challenge into a relieving sight for sore eyes.
Did you ever grow plants in gravel or design a garden? If so, please tell me about your experience via joshua@perfectplants.com. Your questions and comments, as well as gardening conundrums and successes, are always welcome.
California native of the week: If you see a mass of yellow flowers on a dry slope at this time of year or even later, you may be looking at tarweed (Madia elegans), one of the few annual natives that flowers into the summer months. It is gigantic for an annual, reaching up to six feet tall. Flowers open at the end of the day and wilt before noon of the day that follows. This plant’s common name comes from the powerful scent that is emitted by sticky glands found on its flower buds, leaves, and stems. Goldfinches dine on their seeds.