Thinking about what to do with the driveway entrance and patio area. I´m really happy with the entrance as is - two tracks with greenery in the middle, called a ¨ribbon drive¨.
This example is perhaps a little OCD - couldn´t be trimming and edging all the time.
It doesn´t have to be grass and gravel. There are lots of examples with cement, brick, and cobbles.
There are also new materials which hold up to traffic, but are semipermeable. Don´t really like the looks of it.
When we first bought the house we had some large scale (4¨ -5¨)gravel put down, knowing that there would be a lot of truck and vehicle activity. And in the interim it has almost entirely disappeared. Sunk? We´re not in a position to be spending hundreds of euros on gravel every 3 years, so building up an appropriate foundation is important. I wonder if this might be the occasion for landscape cloth. Eww.
I had thought about using something atypical like crushed shell. You´d think Galicia would have it´s share of mussel, clam and oyster shell to dispose of. But haven´t had much luck finding a supplier. So I guess it´s back to gravel. Simple, elegant, old fashioned gravel.
Re: shells, have you tried contacting a cetarea or tin factory? Mussel and cockle shells are usualy used as fertilizer, but I guess people get those on their own...
ReplyDeleteSomewhere is Lugo there is a place that sells crushed up builders rubble, you get all different colours in the mix, we have seen a drive way done with it and it was attractive. If you are interested I will try to make contact with the people that have it to find out exactly where in Lugo the place is.
ReplyDeleteThe kilo - thanks for your comment! I´d be worried about using whole shells and tires- and perhaps smells from fresh shellfish. Do people use them as fertilizer? Bad year for mussels anyway - lots of toxins this year.
ReplyDeleteCheers Anne! If you have the chance, I´d love to have the name of the place. Seems silly to be mining stone for driveways when there are sources for recylcled material or waste products like shells. Bet chickens would love crushed shell. Transport may be an issue.
The neighbors were all excited to get the local authority to asfalt the road. I didn´t comment, but I´d rather see it stay gravel, if only because in 5 years who´s going to be maintaining the roads when they don´t even do it now.