I'm very appreciative of all of the input on this thread. Thanks, everyone; I'm learning a lot.
RoseBlush1 said:
This may sound like a strange question, but where do you buy the gravel/grit ?
Lyn,
I don't know how much fill you need, or whether you want it bagged or piled, but if you need a truckload you might call a local building contractor, quarry, mulch yard or driveway handyman service.
The center of our yard is a natural watershed area. Several years ago, I built a permanent raised area across it to form a land bridge between our two houses. In my case, before I began I called the gentleman that gravels our driveways and asked for advice. He suggested using what's called "dirty fill" and explained that as dump trucks get loaded at the loading yard there's almost always some that spills over the top -this conglomeration of yard dirt, quarry dust and varying sizes of stone are periodically scraped into a pile and sold as dirty fill. It's usually sold at a very minimal cost, not much above the rate to deliver, and it sounds like it's just what you need. Yeah, it's difficult to deal with (larger pieces make shoveling it out a bear!), but it's already premixed, and settling after moving it to your desired area is minimal.
Our land bridge pathway has grown considerably narrower over the years as this mix has proven to be a perfect planting medium -now some of the best plants we have are growing there!
(Roses, too
.)
Otherwise, the big box stores sell bagged stone, but it doesn't go very far for the cost/aching back-work ratio.
