Decorative filling today has become a common technique of landscape design. It is often used to decorate flower beds, lawns, paths and rock gardens. As garden and decorative finishes, bulk materials of various fractions, shade and origin are used. In addition, it not only decorates the landscape, but also has practical value, because it is used for mulching, compaction of the top soil layer, protection against drying out and overheating.

Advantages and disadvantages of decorative dusting

A wide range of decorative dusting is divided into two large groups: inorganic and organic. All of them increase the aesthetics and attractiveness of any flower arrangement, simplify the care of flower beds or garden plots. Each type of material has its own pros and cons.

• Inorganic species have the following advantages:
• durability;
• resistance to decay processes;
• lack of burnout in the sun for a long time;
• unpretentiousness in leaving.

Among the disadvantages of inorganic dumping, weeds can sprout through the embankment and there may be minor difficulties when cleaning small fallen leaves that clogs under stones. Artificial fractions are more expensive due to the special coating and paint.

Did you know? The first stone gardens appeared in Japan in the XIV-XVI centuries during the reign of Muromachi. They were erected in temples so that Buddhist monks could conduct meditation practices, because it was believed that stones relax and calm the mind.

• The organic composition of the embankment for landscape decoration has several advantages:
• natural origin;
• availability;
• coloring with environmentally friendly paints;
• low cost;
• gradual decomposition into humus, fertilizing soil;
• root protection from drying out, overheating, temperature difference.

When using organic granular fractions, some imperfections should be taken into account. The disadvantages are the fragility, the ability of certain species to acidify the soil during decay (they include coniferous sawdust, needles and wood chips).

The bark of trees is rich in tannins, which inhibit the development and growth of plants, especially fruits and vegetables. Also, "organic" needs to be updated annually, because after a shower, melting snow and strong winds, some areas in the flowerbed may be exposed.

Varieties of decorative dusting

Organic and inorganic fillings are widely used in landscape design. They differ in properties and features of use. Despite the components of different origin, they are all able to transform any modest flowerbed into a neatly decorated flower garden in various combinations and compositions.

Organic dumping

Organic bulk materials include ground structures of natural origin, such as:

1. Wood chips.
2. Needles.
3. Pine nut shell.
4. Bark of large and small fraction (pine, oak, cedar, etc.).
5. Coniferous cones (whole or crushed).
6. Sawdust and shavings.
7. Peat and compost.
8. Husk of pine cones.
9. Straw.

Natural loose decor is painted with ecological paints of a wide variety of colors, which are absolutely not dangerous for the soil and plants. But because of the light structure, they are carried by a strong wind, so the top layer should be updated every year.

Almost all organic landfills are waste from woodworking industries, so they have an affordable cost. Wood material can be protected from decay by a coating of used engine oil or paint that dries quickly and does not crust. For wood impregnation, special Pinotex varnish is used.

Important! Sawdust, needles, and wood chips cannot be used on acidic soils, since they already increase its acidity due to the absorption of nitrogen. They are recommended to be placed on alkaline substrates when planting heather plants.

Husk and wood chips are suitable for decorating flower beds and garden paths. The tree bark looks spectacular on alpine hills and among conifers. Compost and peat can be stacked on beds as mulch, but they have no decorative function.

Video: Thuja bark dumping

Inorganic dumping

Inorganic loose decor can be natural and artificial.

Among the first, the most popular:

• quartz sand;
• boulders;
• stones of various fractions (marble chips, granite);
• crushed stone;
• gravel;
• pebbles (river or sea);
• expanded clay;
• shells (whole and chopped).

Artificial fractions are multi-colored stones made of plastic or glass, obtained industrially, as well as films that slow down the growth of weeds, geotextiles and other types of bedding. Synthetic dumping can be of different sizes and shades, but it is not recommended to perform an embankment on open ground, since over time it causes subsidence of the soil.

Did you know? At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Japanese monk Soami erected in the Buddhist temple the world's most famous stone garden, which is called "Ryoan-ji" and is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The price of this type of filling is somewhat more expensive than organic, but due to the neutrality of the chemical composition, it retains its original properties, color and shape throughout the entire service life. Synthetic materials are suitable for the design of garden paths and flower beds, fenced with borders. Decorative dry streams, platforms and all kinds of compositions are created from such a dump.

Pebbles

Pebbles are natural stones that are of two kinds in nature: sea and river. They are small in size, smooth to the touch and rounded. If the material is mixed with colored stones, the landscape acquires special colors. Designers prefer to use sea pebbles more often, since it looks more spectacular than river.

If there is clay or sandy soil on the site, double rate of the material should be laid out on the tracks, because it will be immersed in the soil. To avoid this, first you need to clear the entire path from the ground and make a bed of solid soil.

Sand

Fine-grained material is well suited for backfilling when arranging a strip foundation. For the garden, sea or river sand is used. However, they also use the one that remains after processing quartz, marble, shells, granite and expanded clay. As a rule, when creating landscape compositions, a fraction of one breed is used.

Crushed stone

Dusting with rubble in landscape design is very popular due to the large color scheme and richness of colors. It is obtained by mechanical grinding of rock minerals: granite, sandstone, quartzite, limestone, marble, slate, etc.

The resulting crumb differs in structure, sharpness of the corners. It is widely used for decoration of flower beds, flower beds, alpine hills, Japanese-style gardens, patios in the style of "patio", landscape reservoirs.

Gravel

Gravel is a loose sedimentary rock. It is large, medium and small. When purchasing gravel in a store, it should be noted that sharp-angled and smooth rock can be mixed in one batch. The material is used on central garden paths or at the entrance to a summer cottage.

It can have a natural color or synthetic color in bright colors. In addition, the gravel mound copes with the task of drainage. Sizes of grains are sorted into fractions, but all of them are in the range from 0.2 to 7 cm.

Rules for decorative dumping in landscape design

Depending on the type of loose garden decor, there are certain rules for its installation. For example, geotextiles and films are not covered by organic materials. The "organic" plant origin undergoes processes of decay and decomposition.

The type and composition of the soil should also be taken into account, since during decay, organic decor absorbs nitrogen from the earth and increases its acidity.

Important! In areas with organic filling, it is necessary to ensure that moisture does not accumulate in it, otherwise its decorative effect will be short-lived. For example, bark in wet conditions rots after two months.

The following embankment guidelines for landscape design exist:

1. Before dumping, make up a plan for its placement.
2. Calculate the amount of material needed. 25 kg of shells or 50 kg of gravel can go on 1 m² of plot (it all depends on the size of the fraction and its structural features).
3. Under the inorganic dusting, the flooring is laid. This ensures the safety of its decorative properties. The thickness of the litter layer should be more than 7 mm, and perforation should be present in the texture of the material to eliminate excess moisture.
4. Then the turf (topsoil bonded by the roots of perennial plants) is removed, 15 cm thick.
5. The soil is loosened and weeds are removed from it. If you need to create a hill, prepare the land of the same type that is on the rest of the site.
6. Decorative bulk material is poured (a layer for organic filling - 5–8 cm, for inorganic - 3-5 cm).

Also, the decor must be properly maintained: weed in time, cleaned of debris, add fresh material of one kind, if necessary. Inorganic stones are periodically coated with a non-toxic and plant-friendly varnish to renew the decor and refresh its appearance.

Do-it-yourself decorative dumping in landscaping

Making decorating with bulk materials is easy on your own.

To do this, you need to perform several simple and concise actions:

1. Choose the type of filling, taking into account the size of the fractions, weight and other characteristics.
2. Make a plan for its distribution on the site, mark the boundaries of the lines and the color pattern.
3. Make markings on the site.
4. Clean the work area of ​​debris, fallen leaves, weeds and excess objects.
5. Carefully remove the top layer of turf so that the bed is evenly distributed over the surface.
6. For inorganic materials, lay a substrate (organic ones do not need this).
7. If planting was planned, make a cross-shaped cut in the litter layer.
8. Sprinkle on the prepared plot the selected garden decor, 3–8 cm thick (depending on the type of material).
9. The contours of the borders to strengthen large fractions of stones or borders.

Video: How to cover a flower bed with stone chips

If you choose a decorative filling to create a bright and extraordinary landscape design, you can significantly transform the appearance of the garden. The territory takes on an individual style, and plants look spectacular against the backdrop of a plain or patterned decor. In addition, most materials are also used as mulch to protect the soil and for other practical purposes.