Landscape Stone

The right stone depends on your garden style and your home’s architecture. For modern, low-maintenance gardens, Queenstown Schist is a standout choice — its rich grey/silver tones suit contemporary design and look especially good against dark-toned plants like phormiums and ornamental grasses. Riverstone 20mm suits a more natural, coastal feel and works beautifully around water features and stepping stone paths. Hoggin Crushed Limestone is popular for paths and courtyards — it compacts into a firm, clean white surface. Gold Rush adds warm tones to feature beds. The best approach? Come into our Omokoroa yard and see the stones in person before you commit.

For most garden applications, a depth of 50–75mm is the recommended range. At 50mm you’ll get good weed suppression and a tidy finish; 75mm gives longer-lasting coverage and works better on slopes where stones might shift. For driveways and paths, a deeper base layer (GAP aggregate) should go underneath the decorative stone layer. For pot topping and decorative surfaces around plants, even 25–30mm is sufficient. Remember to factor in the depth when calculating how much stone you need.

Use this formula: Length (m) × Width (m) × Depth (m) = cubic metres needed. For example, covering a 3m × 4m area at 60mm depth requires 3 × 4 × 0.06 = 0.72m³. Always round up by 10–15% to account for uneven ground and settling. If you’re coming into the yard, bring your measurements and we’ll help you work it out on the spot. Delivery is available Bay-wide for orders of 2m³ or more.

Stone suppresses weeds effectively but works best when laid over a geotextile weed mat. Without a barrier underneath, weed seeds can germinate in the fine material and organic matter that accumulates between the stones over time. With a weed mat in place, a 50–75mm layer of decorative stone provides excellent long-term weed suppression with minimal ongoing maintenance — one of the biggest practical advantages of stone over organic mulch. Gammans aggregates article has more on products suitable for drainage and sub-base preparation before laying stone.

Queenstown Schist is a premium decorative landscaping stone sourced from the Otago/Queenstown region of the South Island. It has a distinctive flat, angular shape with rich grey, charcoal, and silver tones that make it a favourite for modern NZ garden design. It’s commonly used in feature beds, garden borders, around pools, and as a low-maintenance ground cover in contemporary landscaping. You can purchase Queenstown Schist by the bag or in bulk from Gammans at 49 Plummers Point Road, Omokoroa. Bay-wide delivery available. Call 027 548 1278 to check current stock.

Decorative stones and pebbles are generally smaller, smoother, and selected primarily for their appearance — things like riverstone pebbles, limestone chips, and schist. They’re used for garden beds, paths, water features, and pot topping. Landscape rocks are larger, more structural pieces used to create borders, fire pit surrounds, rockeries, retaining elements, and feature boulders. At Gammans, you can hand-pick landscaping rocks directly from the yard — useful when you want specific shapes, sizes, or textures for a feature project.

Some decorative stones can be used on driveways, but it depends on the stone type and traffic load. Hoggin Crushed Limestone is a good option — it’s compactable and forms a firm surface suitable for light vehicle traffic. Loose pebble and schist are not ideal for high-traffic driveways as they shift underfoot and under wheels. For a driveway that uses decorative stone as a finish layer, the correct approach is to lay a compacted GAP aggregate base first (GAP 40 as a base, GAP 20 as a binder layer), then apply the decorative stone on top. Talk to the Gammans team — we can advise on the right combination for your project.