Gabions are a kind of basket made out of wicker or metal, and they can be used to hold rocks, soil, plants, or any other materials in landscaping. It’s an open wire cage that has multiple uses around your garden.
Gabion baskets are usually used for erosion control, but they can be incorporated into various landscape designs. They can also be used as a support for growing vines such as grapes. Gabions come in many shapes and sizes, including one-foot cubes filled with pea gravel or topsoil to create ornamental gardens.
They may also be stacked up to six feet high around trees to protect them from damage caused by lawnmowers, snow blowers, or even hurricanes if located in an area susceptible to these weather conditions. If you choose this option, the recommended number of gabions needed is four times the circumference of the tree trunk plus one.
If you’re planning for some landscaping project in your front yard – whether it’s to landscape the whole area or just beautify a particular part of it – here are four ways on how you can use gabions:
1- Flowerbeds
Gabions are excellent tools for making a sturdy flower bed as they provide support and sturdiness while keeping its contents from falling out due to its design and structure. You will just need to place some gravel inside it before putting in the plants.
2- Garden Pots
You can also use gabions as planters to put your lovely flowers or plants. After all, they are open wire cages that look like a pot with some rocks on the sides, and you can place pots or planter bowls right over it. You just have to take care of where you’re going to put them for your outdoor garden so that they will be protected from extreme weather conditions such as strong winds or heavy rains since rainwater may overwhelm the plants in there, especially those weak-stemmed ones.
3- Fence Planters
Gabions are great enclosures when it comes to growing vegetables, flower bulbs, and many other small plants because their structure gives these plants the necessary support and sturdiness and, at the same time, acts as a fence to protect them. For example, you can put some chicken wire over the gabions so you can grow climbing plants or vines that need a sound enclosure for support like pea, corn, cucumber, strawberry, etc. Other than planting vegetables or flowers in there, you could also put decorative rocks inside it, which would give your garden an attractive look and provide extra stability to the fence.
4- Unique Seating
There are some outdoor furniture pieces like swings and chairs, which are often made out of rattan or bamboo, but gabions would also make a beautiful and functional chair. You can create an alfresco dining area in your garden using these gabion chairs because they’re not only beautiful to look at but would be very comfortable as well.
Gabions have many uses for landscaping, and you just have to know where you’re going to put them for them to get the most out of it. If ever you don’t know how to use them or design them, ask the help of someone who knows about it or is knowledgeable about landscaping materials. There are professionals available with their own equipment that will help you out, so you don’t have to waste money on trials and errors.