When we purchased our first home on the Gold Coast, we knew we would enjoy the lovely sub-tropical weather throughout the year. This also started our endeavor to create a stunning garden without spending tonnes of money. Of course, we inherited the garden from the previous owners and were quite happy with the way they had maintained it. Nonetheless, we wanted to add our own touch to it with the help of some hardscaping. We zeroed in on decorative pebbles, as they were inexpensive and allowed us to be as creative as we wanted to be. Let’s dig into them…

Using Decorative Pebbles in the Garden

We were amazed to find out that decorative pebbles could be used in a variety of ways in the garden. Prior to our research, we thought of adding the pebbles in pots to give them a decorative touch.

However, our (little bit of) research showed us that the pebbles could be used instead of mulch: to make colorful and unique patches around the swimming pool, patio and walkways, or create a mosaic with multi-colored pebbles to make an artistic walkway meandering through the garden. Since the Gold Coast receives most of its rain in December and February, we also could use the vibrant pebbles to prevent soil erosion.

Using Landscape Pebbles Creatively

We first got our supply of colourful decorative pebbles in a lot of colors that we previously selected. It is important to synchronise the colour of the pebbles to the overall colour of the property. Once the pebbles were delivered, we began our quest to turn our garden into a colorful haven.

In the flowerbeds – There were flowerbeds along the driveway that we loved, but wanted to add something more. So, after carefully laying a membrane to prevent weed growth, we began covering every inch of the soil with multi-colored and multi-shaped stones. The end result was stunning and spellbinding.

In the walkway – We also decided to give the walkway leading from the patio into the garden a complete makeover. This was a weekend project that made us sweat, but after completing the project, we felt proud of the effort and time we had put into it. We used the pebbles to create a mosaic and fixed them using cement. The colorful stones really made the walkway look welcoming and inviting, while the design that we had chosen, although not complicated, added elegance to our garden.

In the pond – When we purchased the house, it already had a little rockery and artificial waterfall in the garden. We improved that area by making a pond and lining the bottom of the pond with decorative landscaping stones. Then we added ferns around the pond to lend it a more natural appearance.

In the potted plants – Of course, we couldn’t resist adding a few white pebbles to the potted plants in the patio and the front porch. The vibrant colors of the pebbles really looked gorgeous against the lush green leaves of the plants. They worked well with the cactus also.

In the bench too – The garden had a simple concrete bench under a tree. It looked forlorn sitting there on its own. Rather than removing it, we decided to keep the bench, but give it a complete makeover. We used cement to fix large colorful pebbles on the support of the two legs of the bench. We did not put any stone on the seating area, as it would make the bench uncomfortable. Instead we used smaller sized pebbles to decorate the border of the seat. This gave the entire bench a renewed and inviting appearance.

We know there are still many ways to use colorful decorative pebbles in the garden to enhance the look and feel of our landscape. For the moment, we are thrilled with what we have achieved. However, this hasn’t stopped us from exploring other ways to use simple pebbles in a cost-effective manner to enhance the overall beauty of our garden. We are sure we will come up with several more ideas.