Choosing Gravel

• Gravel is available in sizes ranging from 1/8 inch to 1 ½ inches, and as either man-made crushed rock pieces, or smooth, naturally rounded pebbles. What size and type you choose for a gravel walkway depends on the effect you wish to create and how much traffic you expect the walkway to get. For heavily used areas, choose man-made crushed rock. The gravel pieces are irregularly shaped and lock together as they're compressed, making the surface more stable when walked on.
  
  

Raised Stone Edgings

• Borders and edgings define the walkway and keep gravel off planting areas. A sudden transition from soil to gravel can look unfinished. Over time the boundary becomes blurred as gravel and soil merge, invading each other's areas. The solution is to create a border of larger stones or bricks to hold the gravel in place along the walkway. Plants growing at intervals along the border, and trailing over the larger stones, soften the border without hiding it.
  
  

Mix Gravel and Stone Sizes

• Break up a large walkway area by combining large flat rocks with expanses of gravel to create a crazy-paving effect. Choose rocks in a contrasting color to the gravel to add interest and make the walkway look more inviting. An added bonus is that long walkways interspersed with large flat rocks are more comfortable to walk along.
  
  

Vary the Width

• Gravel walkways don't have to go in a straight line from one point to the next, but for efficiency and speed of travel a straight line is sometimes best. In a straight gravel walkway you can add interest by making a couple of areas wider than the rest of the path and placing a focal point in the middle of the widened expanse. Item such as a birdbaths, sundials or decorative planters make attractive focal points.
  
  

Create a Patchwork

• Hold gravel in place by setting stones or bricks into the gravel walkway in a criss-cross pattern that goes the width of the path. Diamond shapes look good, but squares work just as well, as do zig-zags or even vertical or horizontal lines. Symmetrical patterns give a more formal look, or create informality with swirls or circles. Try filling alternate gaps with light and dark-colored gravel for a checkerboard effect.