Expanded clay in gardening and landscape design. Features of the use of expanded clay gravel Application of expanded clay in landscape design

Expanded clay, a well-known construction material, is widely used in landscape and interior design and gardening. The breadth of its use is fully ensured by the unique properties of the material. It is light, porous and has a good appearance. The most important of its unique properties is chemical inertness.

Expanded clay in gardening

In gardening, expanded clay is used for plant drainage and soil mulching. This material perfectly allows moisture to pass through, and does not rot or mold. Its use for this purpose guarantees many conveniences. It quickly absorbs up to 20% of water, and then, if necessary, gradually releases moisture. This is facilitated by the special structure of the lumps, in which the porous mass is enclosed in a somewhat specific ceramic shell.

Installing expanded clay drainage is not particularly difficult and can be done in two ways:

1. Expanded clay chips are simply mixed with soil and poured into the hole with the plant.
2. The second method is more complicated and more effective. First, a cushion of expanded clay is poured at the bottom of the hole, after which soil is poured onto it and the root system is placed, sprinkled with soil. After this - another layer of expanded clay. The multi-layer system guarantees an excellent supply of water and nutrients to the plant roots.

The material is also suitable for mulching the soil. In the dry season, its use allows you to retain moisture reserves in the soil - the crumbs slowly warm up, and on the cold fractions in the morning, upon contact with heated air, abundant dew is formed, providing additional dry watering.

Expanded clay in landscape design

This material is generally quite practical. It is used to decorate garden paths and flower beds. It is poured under the paving stones, and then it additionally performs the functions of a drainage layer. The availability of expanded clay chips in different colors for sale provides rich possibilities for design. And low thermal conductivity will allow you to additionally protect them from winter frosts when decorating shrubs and plants.

Another way to use expanded clay in landscape design is to fill significant gaps between fruit trees and fill the fences of decorative ponds. This prevents the growth of weeds and gives the site a presentable appearance. Garden paths and paths covered with expanded clay will remain dry even in bad weather.

Expanded clay is used in construction, landscaping and landscape design. Many owners of private farms managed to arrange. This lightweight and inexpensive material has high drainage characteristics and a presentable appearance. It contributes to the implementation of utilitarian goals, and will also serve as a decorative element that can decorate the site and make it more attractive.
There are many options for using expanded clay in landscape design and landscaping. Let's consider where the use of this material is unprofitable.

It cannot be made by replacing ordinary gravel or crushed stone. Being outdoors and constantly exposed to stress, this material may lose its specified characteristics. A path filled exclusively with gravel will turn into clay dust in 2 years. Round grains will randomly roll out across the site.

Such a solution is impractical and short-lived. Even high-quality material is not able to maintain its performance characteristics for a long time.

Paths with tiles

It should be noted that, used as drainage under tiles or concrete, they will remain strong and stable for a long time. This material is used in road construction in marshy areas. It functions as a pillow that replaces sand.
The pavement coating will retain the specified performance characteristics for a long time. To further strengthen the base you will need cement laitance. It will reduce drainage properties, but will hold the granules together, eliminating the risk of destruction of the coating.

Green paths

Lawn ones are becoming increasingly popular. They are installed where there is a high load on the surface consisting of lawn grasses. In this way, green parking spaces can be arranged.
To implement this task, you will need to organize a full-fledged “trough” 50-60 cm deep. 30-40 cm of crushed stone is poured into it. A layer of expanded clay gravel (7-10 cm) is placed on top. An expanded clay-sand mixture mixed with nutritious fertilizers is poured on top of this pillow. A durable lawn-type lattice is laid on top. It takes on the entire load and reinforces the coating.
A mixture of this material with sand is used to fill the grid cells. There should be no more than 0.5 cm to the top. After this, the path can be sowed with lawn grasses. With careful care, you will get a durable and high-quality structure with a fresh green cover.
Now they produce not only . The material is used in other areas of site improvement. It can serve as a decorative layer covering the ground between bushes and trees. It makes the surface dry and accessible after rain, and also provides protection to vegetation.
The material is positioned as a highly effective insulation for construction. It is able to protect the root system of heat-loving trees, plants and shrubs from thermal shocks.

Expanded clay granules have an interesting appearance. Round balls of the same size can be a great design solution. The market offers traditional reddish-colored grains and multi-colored expanded clay. This provides an opportunity to create interesting compositional solutions when landscaping the area. Due to its affordable price, expanded clay can be purchased by representatives of different segments of the population.

The versatility and low cost of expanded clay makes it the most popular material for summer residents. We offer information on the possibilities of using expanded clay crushed stone, sand and gravel in gardening, floriculture, and design. All types are used differently, as they have different structure, color, size and purpose.

What is expanded clay?

It is a lightweight porous material made from clay shale. All “pebbles” are homogeneous and have a melted surface. Several types of expanded clay are available:

Sand– the most free-flowing expanded clay material. Consists of small granules not exceeding 5 mm.
Gravel is the most popular in various fields. The size of the granules is divided into several categories, the largest being 2-4 cm.
Expanded clay crushed stone has a clear difference in appearance. These are not round “pebbles”, but granules with pronounced edges, close to a cubic shape.

All types are durable in use, have high strength, presentable appearance, do not react to acidic environments, and are chemically inert. Expanded clay does not burn and is frost-resistant, an excellent heat insulator, and a water balance controller. Water absorption does not exceed 20%, that is, it blocks evaporation and maintains an optimal soil microclimate.

The properties of expanded clay are used not only in construction. This environmentally friendly material is in demand among farmers and designers. Small, even pebbles are harmonious with plants and do not create dissonance in the nature of the landscape.

How to use expanded clay at the dacha

For many, expanded clay is primarily a building material for insulating roofs, foundations, walls and floors. It is also a component of drainage systems, an element of garden paths, and an excellent mortar filler for screeding and lightening the foundation.

Many gardeners are unaware of the potential of these smooth pebbles. Expanded clay provides comfortable conditions for plant development, performs the function of root drainage, and is used in hydroponics. Its air and water permeability are reliable protection against drought in the heat and reduce the possibility of rotting during the rainy season. Low thermal conductivity is used for frost protection. Expanded clay prevents the appearance of pests and reduces the risk of diseases.

Soil fertility and expanded clay

There are three use cases.

1. To improve the soil structure, expanded clay sand is used, the granules of which are no more than 5 mm. This is important on heavy clay soils, where water stagnates. The soil is mixed with granules and plants are planted in this mixture.

2. The second method is called layer-by-layer. Used when planting shrubs, fruit or ornamental trees in places with close water and in lowlands. Expanded clay gravel is poured onto the bottom of the planting pit, then soil. A seedling is placed, the root system is covered with soil, and the top layer is a mixture of expanded clay and soil.

3. Mulching from a fine fraction will preserve moisture reserves, protect against fungus and mold, and reduce the number of waterings. Due to its properties, it creates abundant dew at night/morning hours, providing the effect of dry watering.

Landscape design and expanded clay

Free space in a rock garden, mini-garden, rock garden can be perfectly covered with expanded clay gravel or crushed stone. It is often used to level surfaces in flower beds, and is used for backfilling under rocky paths, as drainage under paving stones.

Multi-colored granules make it possible to decorate shrubs, design flower beds and borders of recreation areas. Pebbles are used to fill decorative ponds; they are laid to create a presentable appearance and prevent the growth of weeds.

Potted plants, garden flowers and expanded clay

In floriculture, expanded clay is popular as drainage. They fill the bottom of the container, which promotes good plant growth. Absorbing properties create a comfortable microclimate and protect against drying out, since the granules absorb excess water after watering and then gradually release them to the soil.

Many people use decorative expanded clay in flower beds as a top layer, covering the surface of the ground with it. This makes each plant stand out and promotes better growth. With his participation, various compositions are created that harmoniously fit into the natural landscape.

Now you know how to relieve plants from stagnant moisture, improve root respiration, increase fertility and make the site attractive.

And it’s better to do this in advance than to rack your brains over a complex issue during urgent construction or site registration. Today, in order to facilitate all processes, we are studying the use of bulk materials in the country.

• • Sand for the garden
  • Gravel at the dacha
  • Using dropouts in the country
  • Using expanded clay in the country
  • Pebbles: use in the country
  • Crushed stone at the dacha
  • How to use peat in the country?
  • Asphalt crumbs
  • Do you need perlite in your dacha?
  • Bulk materials in landscape design (video)

We use bulk materials at our dacha almost every day.. In the garden, during the construction of a gazebo or restoration of an old path, during the construction of a water feature, or even when decorating the wall of a summer kitchen. They are available everywhere, but not everyone knows their purpose and knows how to work with them. We simply cannot physically list every material that is related to the dacha theme, as well as construction and repairs on the site, decoration, decoration and landscape design, since there are hundreds of them. Therefore, we will only talk about the most popular and in demand, which we use most often. Immediately, even before the start of our conversation, DachaDecor.ru invites you to actively participate in the discussion of the article and leave your comments in a special column.

So, bulk materials for the garden, their purpose and use.

We will not describe the materials themselves, their chemical composition or the production process, since we believe that it is most important to understand what is used and where. We present the rest of the data, advantages, disadvantages of bulk materials and comparison tables little by little, talking about various country works, construction, the use of materials in decoration, and so on.

Sand for the garden

Sand is a fine-grained bulk material that we use quite often. Sand acts as a filler in the preparation of concrete for construction, as a “cushion” for laying paths, for diluting materials when constructing blind areas, platforms, and fills.

This purpose can be called classic, but at the dacha everything changes, and we use materials more practically than for their main purpose. So, in addition to preparing concrete for the foundation for gazebos and other buildings, in addition to using sand in decorative works when creating a landscape, as well as adding material to the soil for the highest quality and proper cultivation of some plants, we even store carrots in sand and use it to dry low parts of the site, we create sandboxes on children's playgrounds.

Such wide distribution makes bulk material very popular at the dacha; you just need to select the right sand for different jobs - river sand, quartz sand, quarry sand, artificial sand and other types.

Gravel at the dacha

We use gravel very often. Of course, not all summer residents are familiar with this sedimentary rock, which can be processed before use, since many of us buy a plot for recreation, and often it is already fully prepared for this. Beautiful design, a small garden and a flat lawn, a house for living and a relaxation area... naturally, no more work and only relaxation. But most summer residents are accustomed to working in the countryside, which means that bulk material must not only be known, but also be able to be used in work.

There are many uses for gravel, but most often we need it for construction and serious work. Construction of a house or filling a site, geoplastics in landscape design and the formation of paths, the creation of stone gardens and rocky placers, the construction of access roads or areas for temporary parking of cars, drainage layers or even full-fledged sewage pits... gravel or similar materials are needed everywhere, including We choose based on cost, reliability, ease of use and other characteristics.

Using dropouts in the country

Screening is a loose building material of a fine fraction, obtained by crushing rocks and sifting to obtain materials of different sizes and purposes. Screenings can be limestone, gravel or granite, and are used in the country depending on the type.

Screenings can be used as a filler in the preparation of various concretes, but in the country it is a bedding material, inexpensive and reliable, which we choose for repairing areas in and around the yard, for backfilling areas that need to be leveled, and so on. If you think more globally, for example, developing your summer cottage not only for vegetables and fruits, but also for business, then the screenings can be added to special mixtures for the production of decorative stone, paving slabs, the creation of vertical fencing structures, in general, to launch the material into construction and local production.

Using expanded clay in the country

Expanded clay, expanded clay gravel and expanded clay crushed stone are fairly light bulk materials that can be used for a variety of purposes. Having truly impressive characteristics, expanded clay is suitable for a huge number of country jobs. We have already considered many of them and even studied them in detail, but today there is a little more information.

So, expanded clay is an excellent material for insulating a wide variety of structures. We have already insulated the floor of a new bathhouse that we were building at the dacha with it, we suggested using it as insulation for the floor of a change house, which we also recently discussed, but most importantly, we used expanded clay to insulate the house.

At the moment, this is a really popular material to ensure maximum energy savings. It is suitable for walls, floors and ceilings, but in the latter case it is used from the attic side.

In addition, expanded clay is very good for external work, namely in landscape design. Medium-sized, lightweight granules serve as decoration for the soil surface, as insulation, and even as a filler for drainage structures. Bulk material is often used to produce other materials for construction - expanded clay concrete blocks, from which you can build not only gazebos, patio areas and makeshift buildings, but also full-fledged residential buildings.

Pebbles: use in the country

Pebbles are not a material that is incredibly popular in construction or decoration, but it is actively used in some specific works.

Pebbles are rounded rock fragments, smooth pieces of different sizes, which can be oval, round, irregular, but smooth in shape. This is due to the influence of water currents and waves in coastal areas.

Pebbles in a country house can be used in interior decoration, but we will not go into the interior styling of residential buildings and cottages, because we are more interested in the site itself. And here pebbles also occupy a serious place, if, of course, they are taken into account in landscape design. Bulk material stylizes the surface of many soil objects, is a decoration for paths or a direct backfill material, and can also serve as a decorative and protective layer on the soil. Special decorative pebbles look very nice, but you will have to pay a tidy sum for them.

Crushed stone at the dacha

We have considered this material several times, perhaps without much detail, but most importantly, we know almost all areas of its application.

We need granular bulk material, which is obtained by mechanized crushing of rocks, for construction, laying foundation “pillows” and drainage layers, for the production of building mixtures, filling areas, working with geoplastics, complex leveling of areas or site preparation.

Thanks to the many positive characteristics of gravel, as well as the possibility of purchasing crushed stone of different fractions for summer cottage work, the material can be used not only for its main purpose, but even for decorative purposes.

How to use peat in the country?

Peat is a mineral known to almost every person, which is an agricultural ore, fuel, insulation material, and fertilizer. Therefore, summer residents certainly understand what we are talking about.

This bulk material, which is used very often in dachas, is not used for decorative purposes, but in the garden and vegetable garden it is simply irreplaceable, as well as in home floriculture.

Of course, there are a lot of benefits from peat, but there can be just as much harm, since the components released can be not only useful, but sometimes even harmful. It all depends on the scope and composition of peat, its nature and other indicators that you should definitely think about before choosing peat for use on your own summer cottage.

Chips, sawdust and crushed wood for the garden

We know for sure that more than 30% of summer residents have not yet used these materials on the site, and in general, they simply do not know why they are needed or how they can help on the farm. Therefore, we decided to tell you why you need shredded wood in your dacha.

By and large, almost all wood particles that have undergone mechanical processing show the same results, only over different periods of time, and therefore are used in different ways.

First of all, it should be stated that wood chips are suitable for mulching the soil, heating, fertilizing, and even for decorative decoration of the site. But depending on the type of wood, fraction and type of wood bulk material (we are also talking about shavings and crushed wood), it may have different specifics. For example, fruit tree sawdust is good for smoking, crushed wood is good for making compost, etc. Therefore, it is important to understand the material and also have a garden shredder in the garage!

How to use granite chips in the country?

Granite chips are fine- and medium-fraction bulk material, which is produced by crushing and mechanical processing of rocks. We rarely talk about this material, since cheaper or even higher quality materials are used, but this does not mean that granite chips have no place in the country.

The material is one of the components for the production of slabs and blocks for roads and paths, and is used as a decorative filling for flower beds and other flower beds. It has many advantages, but has certain disadvantages, and therefore if you decide to sprinkle garden paths with granite chips or decorate a new flower garden in the country with the material, contact us and we will tell you about it in more detail. To do this, you can go to the section that is specifically designed for consultations - Answers to questions!

Asphalt crumbs

Asphalt crumbs for a summer residence are not considered indispensable, since there are other materials that are better suited for a larger number of jobs. But this material also has its uses, since in many cases there is an excellent opportunity to get this building material almost free of charge.

Asphalt crumbs are laid on paths and entire roads more densely than crushed stone or sand. Since the material is made from old, recycled asphalt, it has a certain amount of bitumen residues that compact the finished embankment and make it almost homogeneous.

Due to the inclusion of additional components in the composition of the material, asphalt crumbs in the country can become a material for landscape decoration of garden areas and individual objects.

Do you need perlite in your dacha?

Everyone uses those construction or auxiliary materials that they know and understand, and to which they have access. Therefore, we can say for sure that if it is possible to get perlite for your dacha, it will not hurt.

The material, which is a rock of volcanic origin, can be of different colors and have increased porosity. Thanks to these qualities, as well as many other positive characteristics, perlite acts as a sound and heat insulator, as a backfill for walls and floors instead of crushed stone and sand.

In addition, expanded perlite is used for cleaning water structures, and is suitable for treating lakes and ponds in case of serious contamination. But bulk material is most in demand in the country as mulch, a moisture regulator, a basis for growing seeds and cuttings, as well as storing rhizomes and bulbs. In this case, you need a special expanded perlite (agroperlite), which is convenient even for preparing planting mixtures, uniform distribution of seeds in the soil, adjusting the amount of fertilizer, complex soil mulching, and decorative treatment.

Construction waste on a summer cottage

Construction waste is a mixture of everything, at first glance, unnecessary on the territory of the dacha. After construction and repair work, or dismantling of buildings and structures, roads and other objects, such a mixture can be formed from pieces of concrete, gravel, broken brick and stone, and other materials that were previously involved in construction and were part of the structures. After the demolition of an object or when mixing garbage in a car trailer, a certain substance is formed, which in quality can bypass some expensive building materials.

Of course, you can’t create a full-fledged project using such material and you can’t decorate it, but in half of the rough work, construction waste comes in handy. Filling an area for drainage or leveling, filling holes and ravines, laying foundations for paths and platforms, a layer for the foundation of small country houses - all this is possible with cheap, and more often, even completely free bulk material. Therefore, do not rush to throw away construction waste and pay for its removal, because it will still be useful at the dacha.

At this stage, we have looked at some materials that may be useful for summer cottage work. Of course, there are still a lot of similar ones left, such as slag, clay, prepared glass, cement, black soil and others, which can also be used for construction, backfilling or landscaping, but we will transfer these materials to other articles, where they will feel more comfortable by topic.

Bulk materials in the country are irreplaceable, but you yourself understand this perfectly well. Therefore, always make the right choice and focus on high quality, so that all work with sand, crushed stone or expanded clay is carried out correctly, and the resulting objects turn out to be durable, reliable and original. We recommend reading the article about dacha garbage and its new uses.