Contain: The honeycomb of cells locks the gravel in position, preventing it being scattered beyond where it has been laid. 

Access: The cells and built-in geomembrane stabilise and support gravel, reducing rutting, dipping and pooling. This allows easy movement across gravel surfaces for pedestrians, prams, wheelchairs, wheelbarrows and bikes. ACO GravelGuard also provides a solid base for garden furniture on gravel seating areas and under garden buildings and hot tubs.

Permeable: The open structure of the cells and the permeable geotextile allow rainwater to pass through to the absorbent soil below, replenishing groundwater and reducing rainwater runoff into the sewerage system.

GravelGuard White (281093)

GravelGuard Grey Eco (281095)

The ACO GravelGuard Grey Eco tile (281095) has the same features as the GravelGuard White (281093), but is made from 100% recycled polypropylene and is distinguished from the latter by its off-white greyish colour.

The Grey Eco tile is certified by Blue Angel, a German certification scheme for environmentally friendly products. The recycled polypropylene is manufactured from consumer waste plastic. This keeps plastic out of landfill, requires less energy to manufacture than if from raw petroleum and supports a circular economy. For more details of Blue Angel, click here.

NOTE: The GravelGuard Grey Eco tile appears darker in photos due to shadowing, but is nearer to off-white when viewed in person. 

Why Ulli Becker used ACO GravelGuard Grey Eco

Ulli is a German interior design influencer and blogger and shared with ACO why she used ACO GravelGuard Grey Eco for the gravel terrace around her house.

Ulli chose gravel over tiles or flagstones because ‘we want the outside to look very natural.’ However they encountered a significant problem.

“Initially we didn‘t have honeycomb under the gravel. That didn‘t work for us because it felt like we were walking on the beach through soft sand. With the honeycomb, it is now much more stable and nothing slips away.”

• @unserplanb on instagram

Frances Tophill's Show Garden

With sustainability being the key theme for 2022’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC in Birmingham, Frances Tophill, well known horticulturist, author and television presenter for BBC Gardeners’ World, had set her sights on making her debut show garden at the event “as sustainable as it possibly can be.”

Frances used recycled and upcycled materials for planters, the garden shed and greenhouse, tying the design together with recycled aggregate paths. Yet aggregate gravel is notorious for migrating, particularly when walked across by 90,000 visitors, plus any solution had to fit with the garden’s sustainability theme.

ACO GravelGuard Grey Eco offered Frances and her team the ideal solution. The honeycomb cells contained the aggregate gravel preventing it from migrating beyond the pathways. The geotextile membrane prevented the gravel from sinking into the laying course beneath despite the heavy footfall at the show. The garden’s sustainability theme was enhanced by ACO GravelGuard Grey Eco tiles being made from 100% recycled polypropylene. 

Rupert Keys, Managing Director at Keyscape Landscape Design & Construction, who build the garden, commented: “This has been one of our most challenging briefs yet, given how almost everything had to be sustainably sourced or produced. The GravelGuard Grey Eco solution was delivered fast and on time, while the product itself was easy to handle and install, making this part of the project quick and simple.”

• Read more about ACO GravelGuard in Frances' show garden here

ACO asked experienced landscaper Rupert Keys for his expert advice on installing ground reinforcement grids. With more than thirty years’ experience, 60 show gardens and the TASK Training Academy to his name, Rupert shares his knowledge, revealing that what goes beneath the grid is as significant as the grid itself to deliver a stable and permeable solution

• Read our interview with Rupert Keys here

With thanks to ProLandscaper Magazine and Rupert for permission to use this article from June 2024 edition of the magazine.