It still has to be easier to maintain than what I currently have! LOL

Will you be mowing near your gravel? In my experience, there's no such thing
as truly contained gravel. And gravel slung by lawnmower blades is
a lot tougher on both the blades and on the thing the gravel hits than
an organic mulch of some flavor.

Dry lawn clippings make great mulch that needs to be renewed once a year
or so... much less work than gravel. Just make sure the clippings come from
plants not recently treated with herbicide.