# Forum Home Renovation Paving  Laying Pebbles

## Arry

Hi 
I have an area near my front door approx 3 metres by 2 metres that I want to make a feature of. 
I live in Perth and it is a new house so the ground is just black sand. 
I have a few plants in the area but I want to lay pebbles over the sand and then put a big pot in the middle as a feature. 
What is the best way to lay the pebbles? 
I have been told to retain them with treated pine, then lay black plastic, poke holes in the pastic and then lay the pebbles on top of the plastic. 
Also obviously level the sand before laying the black plastic.. 
Does this sound like the way to go? 
Any ideas / suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 
Many thanks  :Biggrin:

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## Timed Out

If you want to use the pebbles in a defined area using an edge restraint is a good idea.  It will prevent them from spilling over onto walkways, grassed areas etc.  If you are wanting to create a modern look with the pebbles and feature pot I would go for something different to treated pine.  IMHO treated pine is better suited to rustic or traditional style gardens.  Boral make a range of easy to lay concrete retaining wall products in a variety of colours that look good in a modern setting.   
Forget about the black plastic - it starves the ground of water and oxygen and over time makes the soil turn horrible.  If you want to put down something to supress the weeds use weedmat instead - it allows water and air to penetrate it and keeps the weeds down.  You can cut holes in it for the planting holes you have. 
Before you lay the weedmat and pebbles I would advise digging in a good amount of  organic matter (garden compost, well composted manure etc.) to improve the soil.  The soil will retain moisture and nutrients better and your plants will thank you for it.

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## ozwinner

Hi.
I wouldnt use black plastic as it makes the ground go funny.
You can get some woven black weed stop mat, much better than the plastic. 
Everything else you are going to do sounds fine. 
Al  :Smilie:

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## Arry

> If you want to use the pebbles in a defined area using an edge restraint is a good idea. It will prevent them from spilling over onto walkways, grassed areas etc. If you are wanting to create a modern look with the pebbles and feature pot I would go for something different to treated pine. IMHO treated pine is better suited to rustic or traditional style gardens. Boral make a range of easy to lay concrete retaining wall products in a variety of colours that look good in a modern setting.  
> Forget about the black plastic - it starves the ground of water and oxygen and over time makes the soil turn horrible. If you want to put down something to supress the weeds use weedmat instead - it allows water and air to penetrate it and keeps the weeds down. You can cut holes in it for the planting holes you have. 
> Before you lay the weedmat and pebbles I would advise digging in a good amount of organic matter (garden compost, well composted manure etc.) to improve the soil. The soil will retain moisture and nutrients better and your plants will thank you for it.

  Many thanks for the advise on the retaining wall products from Boral. I will definitely look into that. Thanks also for the advise on the black plastic. Where can I get a weedmat? Is that a brand name or just a generic product known as a weedmat? 
Thanks for the tip regarding the organic matter as well.

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## Timed Out

I think weedmat is the generic name.  It's readily available from large garden centres and hardware stores (Bunnies etc.).

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