GARDEN BARK VERSUS GRAVEL – When it comes to decorating a well laid garden bed, there are very few ways to finish off its aesthetics and make it look complete. There tend to be two options available to the average gardener, gravel or garden bark. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and depending on the budget for your gardening project, you can achieve beautiful results with either.
Garden Bark
Offering a more natural look at a much more affordable price, garden bark allows you to complete a flower bed, plant pot or feature area with an organic natural lift that will dramatically improve the aesthetics of your exterior. Available in a range of colours, sizes and styles from a vast array of different trees, it is easy to find a style to match the rest of your garden and home.
Aesthetics are not the only benefit that garden bark has to offer. Its practical uses around the garden make it a formidable weed killer. With its heavy, chunky properties it makes it very hard for weeds to grow and penetrate through. The bark will also hinder the weeds growth as it blocks the light from the soil, stopping the weeds receiving any source of natural light making it extremely hard for the weeds to prosper under these harsh conditions.
Finally, the one thing that garden bark can do that gravel is incapable of doing is fertilising the soil and plants that it surrounds. As an organic natural product that is formed from part of a living material, it contains qualities which are beneficial to the land and plants that it lays around. Natural minerals and nutrients are crucial for the health and sustainability of plants so it can prove to be a great source of fertiliser, unlike gravel.
Gravel
Gravel on the other hand poses different qualities that may be better for more elaborate gardens. Being able to use gravel universally as both a substitute to brick or patio and grass as well as a visually pleasing resource makes it appealing to a large number of gardeners. Available in a range of colours, grains, type and size, it can be adapted to suit the style and theme of any garden.
Like bark, it also possesses the ability to stop weeds from growing through due to its weight and mass, especially when combined with a black liner that is usually installed underneath both gravel and bark. Providing a good filtration system for water, it also allows the roots to maintain a steady flow of water allowing them to grow and prosper in some of the hardest conditions.
Although this offers more flexibility, it does come at a price. More expensive than garden bark, this alternative is pricier but last longer due to the material. So depending on what you intend to use your ground covering for, this will determine which material you decide to use.
