If you’d prefer to spend more time enjoying your garden and less time maintaining it, decorative aggregates offer one of the simplest ways to achieve a low-maintenance outdoor space. These versatile materials bring texture, colour and structure to your garden while helping to reduce the need for weeding, watering and regular upkeep.

Replace Traditional Lawns with Stone Features
Lawns require regular mowing, feeding, edging and watering—particularly during the warmer months. Replacing all or part of your lawn with decorative aggregates is a smart, low-effort alternative.
Gravel, pebbles or chippings can be used to create attractive stone-covered areas that double as seating spaces, walkways or decorative surrounds for planting beds. They offer excellent drainage and eliminate the time-consuming upkeep associated with grass.

Suppress Weeds with Stone Mulch
Decorative stones make a long-lasting alternative to traditional bark mulches. When laid over a weed membrane, materials like slate chippings, flint or pea gravel can help suppress weeds while regulating soil temperature and retaining moisture.
Unlike organic mulch, which needs to be topped up each year, stone mulch is permanent and remains attractive in all seasons. It’s particularly useful around trees, shrubs and perennial borders.

Install Easy-Care Paths and Seating Zones
Stone or gravel paths not only define walking routes but also add contrast and texture to your garden. Aggregates such as Cotswold Chippings, Moonstone Gravel or Golden Flint offer both decorative appeal and functional stability.
Because they are permeable, these types of paths help reduce water pooling and aid natural drainage. Maintenance is minimal—just occasional raking or topping up to keep them level.

Design a Rock Garden or Decorative Stone Feature
For a truly low-maintenance centrepiece, consider installing a rock garden using Scottish Cobbles, slate paddle stones or Celtic gabion stone. Pair with drought-tolerant plants such as alpines or succulents to create an eye-catching feature with minimal upkeep.
Other low-maintenance stone features include dry riverbeds, decorative borders and gabion walls—ideal for adding structure and interest to your garden without increasing the workload.

Use Decorative Stones to Edge Beds and Borders
Create tidy, defined edges around your flower beds and garden paths using decorative stones. This not only gives your garden a crisp, clean appearance but also prevents grass or mulch from encroaching into undesired areas, cutting down on time spent tidying.

Shop Decorative Garden Stones at Mainland Aggregates
A beautiful garden doesn’t have to mean endless hours of maintenance. At Mainland Aggregates, we stock a wide selection of garden stones in various shapes, sizes and colours to suit all design styles and landscaping projects.

Browse our range today and discover how easy it is to create a stunning, low-maintenance garden that looks good all year round.