Beach pebbles can look great in any garden. Unlike gravel, they look smoother, rounder, and smoother overall. However, if you decide to place beach pebbles in your garden, make sure they are specifically for the garden and from sustainable resources, and not from a source that gradually runs out, leaving the area poorer as a result.
It can be tempting to just set off with your car, a shovel, and some sturdy sacks to a nearby beach or a nearby riverbed to dig up your own supply of pebbles. You can also probably do this easily, as there probably won’t be anything there to physically stop you.
However, don’t do it! The stones you find on a beach are most likely protected by a local government protection order. Taking them without permission will almost certainly lead to the possibility of a heavy fine, so it is not worth doing.
Instead, look for a reputable supplier, one that uses sustainable resources. If your provider of choice is one that gets its pebbles where it can, and you don’t care how beaches sell out as a result, it’s time for you to switch providers.
An interesting case comes from a news story highlighting the problems facing Chesil Bank in Dorset, part of the Jurassic Coast world heritage site. After a popular TV show about how beach rocks could really liven up any garden, hobby gardeners began hauling rocks, rocks, and pebbles off the beach at Chesil Bank by truck.
The 18-mile stretch of unique beach with pebble banks, which had remained intact as a natural protective habitat for thousands of creatures for more than 10,000 years, suffered considerably as a result of its thoughtless stupidity. His illegal action was simply not sustainable.
While these pebbles and other stones can create a wonderful low-maintenance garden, and they also look so good, it has to be said that seeing them placed miles from the nearest beach is not entirely natural. But, if you think that is the only option you want to make, get your stock of sustainable resources.
Coastal erosion is an unfortunate fact of life. The sea sometimes devours coastal stretches, but it also creates them. All the pretty stones that can be seen freely on any beach were washed away by the action of the sea, usually in stormy conditions.
If the stones are removed in manageable quantities for the beach, over time they will be replaced by the actions of the sea. This means that, to some extent, beaches can be a sustainable resource. However, it is a good balance, and removing too many, too quickly, will soon create a situation where the beach will not recover very easily.
However, there is no doubt that a garden that uses beach pebbles, perhaps of different colors and different sizes, in an original and artistic way can be the pride of any street.
There has always been something extremely attractive about clean, shiny rocks and stones, and along with their low-maintenance qualities, they have always been a hit with gardeners. So use them in your garden by all means, but make sure they come from sustainable resources.