Slate is a material that can have several functions in the garden.
Create a landscape atmosphere
Depending on how slate is used in the garden, it is possible to create a variety of landscaping atmospheres.
For a Zen atmosphere
The palm tree is a species that is well suited to this type of atmosphere. At the foot of the palm tree, you can install black shale (or Portuguese shale) stakes, so that they form a rosette around the stipe. To bring out the dark color of the slate, white gravel is spread on the ground. A fence of vertical slate stakes, 1.50 cm high and driven 50 cm deep, delimits the space while other stakes used as borders, prevent the white gravel from spreading.
Slate slabs (palis) are then used to make a Japanese step path. For this purpose, slate palis from Portugal (1 m to 1.50 m long and 50 cm wide, placed every 20 cm) are most often used.
For a rustic atmosphere
On a 'natural' lawn (which has not been mowed for a few weeks), slate slabs can also be used to create an informal pathway, with each change of direction justified by an obstacle (shrub, decorative element...). Bonus: the passage of the lawnmower over the pathway is done without difficulty.
Serve as mulch for a bed of plants
Slate can be used as mulch for Mediterranean beds but also for hydrangea beds. The latter will benefit from the "bluing" power of the aluminum present in the slate.
This mulch is not only aesthetically pleasing (the colors of the flowers and the green of the foliage are enhanced by the bluish black of the slate), but it also keeps the soil fresh. For a good efficiency, we spread it in addition to a woven fabric, on 3 to 4 cm thickness.
For this type of use, we prefer Angers slate, which is blacker, denser and contains less pyrite (and rusts much less) than the previous one.
Bonus: slate blends well with other mineral materials, such as crushed brick or pozzolan.
Designing a walkway
To obtain a natural-looking driveway that blends into the landscape, such as an undergrowth, you can use slate petals. A driveway of this type is reminiscent of a dry river bed.
A Breton use of slate
The slate palis which cover the old pig shelters (soues) are often recycled in very aesthetic fences, to shelter from the wind or the glance of the neighbors.
