I'll try to take a photo on my next visit (we're current 30 miles away). The walkway's about 3 feet wide; the gravel border extends to a foot on either side. You're right about flowers needing to grow in all directions. I think I'll decide the gravel's necessary for drainage and just cover it with barn mulch. Thank you for helping me think this through. We're moving from a very rural area to a suburb, and I'm not used to all this asphalt.

You have exposed insulation on the outside of the house?

Gravel is sometimes used as drainage as it guides water to a lower area without the rain washing out the soil..or it could be decoration.

It could also be the base that supports the asphalt path.

Yes, the gravel is surely part of the gravel bed that I assume lies under the walkway. You can't just lay asphalt (or bricks, or cement, for example) directly on dirt, because the soil would shift around and disturb the walkway.

And yes, there is insulation outside the house, but it's not exposed to the elements. It extends horizontally around the perimeter. There's about a foot of dirt over it, and I'll be very careful not to disturb it. The home we're leaving didn't have that, but it was built in the 1830s, and quite a bit has changed since then!

Many thanks to all who have helped me. I do understand now that I need to let that gravel alone.

"You can't just lay asphalt (or bricks, or cement, for example) directly on dirt..." It is done all the time. I think as long as you don't undermine the walk, you will be OK.

Editing to clarify ... a concrete slab is often laid directly on soil ... not loose bricks or asphalt, both of which are flexible.

I think grammy moved to a manufactured home community.

Yes, that might explain the insulation.

Our home has radiant heat through the floor. The house is stick-built. It wasn't built elsewhere and hauled to the site. It's not prefab or modular. First a slab was laid, then the house was built atop it. I think what I described earlier is called "wing" insulation, as in the description below. (We're in Zone 4.)

"In climate zones 4 through 8, the most common locations for insulation are at the perimeter of the slab (installed vertically) and under the slab (installed horizontally). Less common is a third method: buried horizontal or sloped “wing” insulation installed around the exterior perimeter of the building to raise soil temperature.

Two types of rigid-foam insulation—expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS)—are suitable for use in these positions. (Make sure EPS is rated for ground contact.) During the winter, when the temperature of the outdoor air is colder than the soil temperature, the coldest part of a slab on grade is always the perimeter...

"In climate zones 4 and higher, it’s also a good idea to install some horizontal insulation under a slab on grade. If you want to save money, you can install a 4-ft.-wide band of horizontal R-10 (or higher) insulation at the perimeter of the slab in a picture-frame configuration." [https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2014/07/09/insulating-a-slab-on-grade]

My custom-designed home in Maine has pink insulation on the parts of foundation that go below ground as the foundation slopes down to a beautiful water view. Pink foam insulation up here is not just for the manufactured home! I have very few moisture issues from my actual home, although strong sea fogs move through our southerly open windows to the point that it causes ink to bleed into the paper. When I consider the power of the moisture off the sea, I am grateful for that pink insulation that at least protects us from moisture from the ground.

I also have gravel surrounding the house to help with water runoff, and I am grateful. We did not build this house. But, I can say that one point of great relief is the fact that the house seems to handle outdoor water very well.

Mainegrammy, I would carefully examine your options before just removing the gravel. I understand your desire to turn it into garden, as I had the same desire with our current house. Considering the considerable moisture I have off of the ocean, I am extremely thankful that i do not have moisture issues with my basement.

I can't give you much good advice, with the exception of "wait and see." If you just bought the house, then it would be to your advantage to live in it for a while (2 years?) until you had an idea of what happens in torrential rains, snow melt, etc., and were familiar with your particular house's surrounding. For example, I have had mold issues not from the ground, but from the moisture off the water in summers with excessive rain (2014). I have learned that if I see a huge bank of sea fog coming OR a stretch of days heavy with rain, I have two choices: clean up mildew from moisture in the outside air, or shut all the windows and keep things dry. If I shut my windows, then things stay amazingly dry. Just examples of what I have learned about my house that surprised me.

Before you remove gravel, live in the house for a bit, watch and see how much it is needed. Our gravel is only really important on certain sides of the house. Wait and see what is the case for your house.

Your house sounds wonderful. Wish i could see it! And, kudos for living in zone 4. I LOVE winter. You will have some beautiful snowy vistas to see. Please keep posting the New England forum. It's a great place for help and feedback!

In the meantime, I'm having a hard time picturing EXACTLY what your gravel situation looks like. If the gravel extends too far into the area where you want to garden, start with a pot garden. They can look extremely attractive, and give you time to figure some things out.

Wing insulation was also used on my foundation when it needed to be updated from field stone to poured concrete to help manage moisture. My home is a 150 year old farmhouse. While not the most common form of insulation in this part of the world, it is used with traditional site-built homes on poured slabs to help prevent frost heaving.

Mainegrammy, if you could add a photo of the situation, it might get you more useful answers. Sometimes gravel is used more as an ornamental mulch (though it mostly doesn’t suit my taste) than as a practical consideration.

Many thanks to all who have replied. I have no need for further information, as what's already been given is generally useful. No photo will be posted. I appreciate the reasons offered for posting one, but we're simply too busy packing and starting the move (I don't have a Smart Phone--there's no cell service in our old place--I'd have to use my camera, download it to my laptop, etc.). Downsizing from 11 rooms to three is rigorous!

Just want to tell NHBabs that the house we're leaving after 45 years (a Maine farmhouse c. 1830) also has wing insulation, installed a decade or so ago. We did that for the reasons you mentioned. I didn't intend to complain about it, only to explain that the combination of pink wings coming out from the house and about 6 inches of gravel coming toward the house from the walkway make my new flower bed quite narrow. But we'll manage (and will simply cover the gravel with mulch).