ᐅ Garden Photos Chat Corner

So, the gravel is too heavy for a rake, right? I thought it would shift around too much, and I've even seen deals for leaf blowers/vacuums... But if a rake works, I'll look for something else...

We once had gravel under maple trees. The leaves tend to accumulate quite a bit there, and technically, using a leaf blower works pretty well when it’s dry. However, the vacuum doesn’t distinguish between what it blows away.

If the leaves have gathered and are dry, you can also just pick them up. But if you want “clean” gravel, it will be difficult without a blower, although I personally wouldn’t need that. Just as some construction flaws eventually become less noticeable, the leaves will eventually blow away into the surrounding nature. Trying to prevent that will be a tough job. 😀

As I mentioned, my concern is less about the appearance and more about not bothering my neighbors (I know I would be the perfect neighbor for [USER=51345]@kati1337). What worries me is that the uncleared leaves could be blown by the wind—which we do have quite a bit on the property—onto the neighboring lots. I’m fairly tolerant of fallen leaves myself, although these are linden leaves, which I generally don’t like because of the honeydew. I can only hope that, in this particular case, it is a variety less prone to aphids.

Well, I’ll wait and see how it turns out in practice...

Tolentino schrieb:

As I said, it’s less about the appearance and more that I don’t want to annoy my neighbors (I know I would be the perfect neighbor for @kati1337). I’m concerned that the uncleared leaves will be blown by the wind (which we actually have quite a bit of on the property) onto the neighboring lots. My own tolerance for fallen leaves is fairly high, although these are linden leaves, which I generally don’t like because of the honeydew. I can only hope that in this particular case it is a type less prone to aphids. Well, I’ll just wait and see how it turns out in practice...

I understand that, but I would also say that practice will show how it goes. The wind usually pushes the leaves into a corner where they can then be collected more easily.

Tolentino schrieb:

So, the gravel is too heavy for a rake, right? I thought it would move around too much, and I have even seen deals for leaf blowers/vacuums...
But if a rake works, I'll look elsewhere...

Are we talking about the same thing?
I meant relatively fine gravel like 2/5 crushed stone. That can be raked well and spread evenly again.
Coarser gravel 0/32 compacts. You would probably only be able to rake up the leaves, and animal droppings won’t get buried.

Tolentino schrieb:

Which tool do you recommend for a gravel driveway? Would a regular rake or garden rake pick up the gravel – or not?

We use the following tools on our gravel driveway (just over 100m (330 feet) long, with 6 parking spaces):

• Gloves to pull out any weeds
• Rake for when there’s too much leaves or twigs
• Garden rake to spread the gravel
• Wheelbarrow to bring gravel back up from lower areas – it’s on a slope

By the way, a few leaves don’t really bother me at all.

It’s really nice that you want to be considerate toward your neighbor; that fits the positive impression I’ve formed of you. My driveway isn’t at the boundary with neighbors (except one, who cares even less than I do), so it’s not really a concern for me.