garden
landscaping
“Many annual flowers don’t
perform well in the Southern
heat of North Carolina. I like
leaf texture and colour as
opposed to flowers.”
B r u c e C l o d f e lte r , Landscape architect
Bruce needs to te n d his succulents,
above
, only once a w eek. G reen
sem pervivum and purple-tinged
echeveria pop against dark gravel.
River cobbles an d creeping Jenny
absorb th e w ater flow. Blue glass balls
ad d a decorative touch,
right.
LANDSCAPING
Gravitating
to Gravel
B ru ce’s c lie n ts are in creasin g ly
a sk in g fo r o u td o o r living sp a c e s.
B ut th e c o s t o f h a rd sc a p in g ca n
b e e x o rb ita n t. O ne so lu tio n is p e a
gravel, w h ic h B ruce u se s in h is
ow n g ard en .
p r a c t i c a l b e n e f i t s
P ea gravel
falls m u c h c h e a p e r th a n b rick s or
flagstone. T h ere are en v iro n m en tal
b en efits, too: gravel is p erm eab le,
allow ing ra in w a te r to p erco late,
red u c in g run-off.
g o o d l o o k s
F or v isu al appeal,
h e m ingles w h ite p ea gravel w ith
b row n. H e p o u rs th e m ix over
a 4-inch lay er o f c o a rse r gravel,
w h ich k ee p s clay fro m w orking its
w ay u p in to th e to p lay er of gravel.
t h e d r a w b a c k s
G ravel do es
h av e a d ow nside, B ruce cautions:
it’s ea sy to tra c k in to th e h o u se;
dogs love to dig in it; a n d ch ild ren
to fling it. F allen leaves m u s t be
rem o v ed quickly, le s t th e y m ix w ith
th e gravel.
