"Walter R." wrote:

|What
|are the relative advantages/disadvantage of using black plastic, permeable
|plastic cloth or just put the gravel on the existing soil?

Part experience, part conjectu

Gravel directly on the soil will tend to disappear into it.
Black plastic will work, but rot away in a few years.
Permeable plastic cloth (I assume that's what's called landscape fabric
hereabouts) is best but there are different grades and heavier is better. You
may still get weeds forcing their roots into the mesh of the cloth but they can
be dealt with individually as they appear.
I'm not familiar with ice plant - don't know how it will behave when you smother
it.

Good luck

Alexander