Let's Grow Stuff

- Greetings from the garden, and welcome back to Let's Grow Stuff!

My name is Ben, and today we're at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin to learn about gravel gardens.

Let's dig in.

[lively music] Well, today, we are at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin, and we're joined by Director of Horticulture, Jeff Epping, who is a gravel garden expert.

Jeff, welcome, and thanks for being with us.

- Thanks for coming.

- Well, tell us about gravel gardens in general.

What is their defining characteristic?

- Well, it's kind of a system of growing plants in four to five inches of gravel.

And what the gravel really is about is creating a weed barrier for us.

So, that four to five inches has to go right to the edge of the garden.

You can't just let it kind of taper off.

So, in an open area, you can use like boulders or such, like we got around here, but you might have a foundation of your house or a sidewalk, and then, you don't have to do anything with those other than get the gravel down about six inches above that.

- Perfect.

Now, are there any drawbacks to gravel gardens or sort of cautionary tales that we should be aware of?

99% of the time, when I plant a gravel garden, it's in full sun.

And you can do a little bit of shade.

The one thing that is the enemy of the entire system is sediment or organic matter that builds up in the gravel.

So, if we have any water flowing into an area... Like, a rain garden would be a bad spot for a gravel garden because with water comes all the sediment, goes in between the gravel, and then we have this perfect place for weeds to get going.

- So, higher ground, good drainage, never at a low spot, essentially.

- Pretty much.

- So talk us through managing a gravel garden long-term.

So, obviously, there's probably quite a bit of work to get it established and get the gravel hauled in, but then once it's in, how do we move forward from there?

- Yeah, that's a good point.

All, all the work is upfront in getting the gravel.

The planting's a lot of fun, 'cause you're just digging like a dog, putting the plant in, and you're good to go.

So, the most important thing is the spring cleanup.

Why that is, is that we don't want any of that organic matter to build up in the soil.

So, a very thorough spring cleanup, and then you're good to go the rest of the season.

- Awesome, well, Jeff, thank you so much for being with us today sharing your time and expertise.

We appreciate it.

- You bet.

- Well, don't forget, there is so much more yet to learn online at PBSWisconsin.org/ letsgrowstuff.

There, we have more videos, tips, tricks, and a blog to help you grow a better garden.

So, until next time, happy gardening!

– Announcer: Funding for Le t's Grow Stuff is provided by Ganshert Nursery & Landscapes, the Focus Fund for Wisconsin programs, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.