IS there an alternative to bark chipping for ground cover?

Hopefully it won't be long before I have my soil pile down to a manageble level. Once I've cleared the area and levelled the remaining soil off I intend to use the area for compost, empty pots, general stuff that might come in handy that I don't want seen from the garden.

I was thinking there would be some benefit in creating a layer of matter of some kind on top. This would make the area tidier and supress weeds. My immediate thought is bark chipping but I don't have much left and I don't want to buy it in bulk as I did last year. Bark chipping can also be a bit messy and moves around.

The tree routes protrude above ground which is one of the reason s I want to raise the level with something.

Any ideas would be appreciated although the more I type the more bark chipping stand out as the logical solution.



G.

 

Give me bark in preference to that awful gravel any day.

If you have prunings, and a shredder, then your own chippings are free mulch.

 

@Jack Sparrow according to the size of the area...in my opinion i would double layer it with soil liner and get some pea gravel and put it on top and level it out...sometimes you can use one layer of liner but it's how thin your gravels going to be

 

Excuse me @pete ...i my gravel

 

Sorry @Gail_68 , it's just me.

I do tend to think the tele gardeners overdo the gravel, it looks good with the right kind of planting, spikeys etc. but they put it everywhere.

People often use pea shingle, that will never settle in a hundred years, then spent the rest of their lives sweeping it back where they want it.
Sharp gravel will at least stop moving and settle.

 

Gravel for screes and permanent planting; for a "clean" crisp look too .
However, where future planting is envisaged and for a more natural look bark chips are hard to beat. They add value to the soil too over time whereas gravel does not
Different grades of bark too....mini chips look good I think and "blow" around less; incidentally, not sure they actually "blow" around though as I think its more to do with birds searching for food and scratching around.

 

@pete don't get apologising mate...actually i was joking with you

Every one looks at gardens in different aspects of opinions and i like the bark chips but out the two we went gravel and quite a few tones of it mate

 

In your case, Gail, gravel is ideal and looks great
Horses for courses. Bark chips would not have looked right there.

 

@Verdun and at the time we had the dog and how we designed the back we thought the pea gravel would look nice around the hedging of the slabs but when the dog destroyed the lawn ripping it up we went for the larger heavy gravel 3 tone is in that square on the back and he still kicked down to the lining but both back and front are fully double lined

 

I have used kindling and the fire logs in my front garden as a top dressing, sounds weird I know but actually looks good and has the big plus that cats don’t use it as a litter tray like they tend to with bark chippings.

 

Bark is nasty stuff in my opinion. It's just a breeding ground for weeds, fungi, bacteria, slugs and snails! I agree with @shiney , membrane and then I would top that with flagstones (plenty on Freegle). Build a sturdy trellis and hide the lot behind climbers.
If it faces south make an arch out of thick solid steel rod and grow Jasmine over the entrance. Ours took about ten years to achieve this..............


The view from the south facing side..............

 

I use 6" of Leaf Mould to cover blank areas. Works a treat and helps the soil. Never get weeds in it but occasionally get little oak tree and conker tree seedlings.