We have tons upon tons of rock and gravel in our yard. We lay river rock of various sizes on landscape fabric then put small gravel on top of the bigger rocks to fill in gaps. We feel it looks a lot more natural that way. To keep weeds at bay that can grow in minuscule amounts of dirt, we cook them with a torch hooked up to a propane tank. It kills the weeds without any chemicals and is really quick and easy to do.