"geoff" wrote:

Hello geoff

the turf or can I just cover with weed inhibitor material
and then tip the gravel on? thanks for any advice

g I dare say an inch of loam topsoil takes over a thousand
g years to form on bare rock and you wish to cover it up and
g make it unuseable. What a waste! Why not recycle it?

On the other hand, when he moves the new occupants might be pleasantly
surprised when they decide to put turf down where the gravel is to
find a nice seperating membrane and lovely turfable topsoil
underneath...

If he did as you suggest, they'd have no topsoil and would have to
import it. Very few things you do in your garden are permanent;
fashions change, hardscapes fail, gardeners change. The pond you broke
your back digging might be filled in by the next people along who
don't want to risk it with a young child. That's half the joy of
gardening, knowing it changes every year - with or without your help.
That's also why I'll never go back to a garden I've previously worked
on.

Only the very rare thing will last more than half a lifetime so it's
kinda nice to think of future gardeners sometimes.

--
Simon Avery, Dartmoor, UK Ý http://www.digdilem.org/