What type of material will give my yard a desert look without washing away as does decomposed granite?

I used 2.5 inches depth of DG(3/8 minus) on top of a landscape fabric in the flat parkway in front of my house, but the main yard has a slight slop with 8" elongated mounds. I have seen a local college using much finer material, which included some 3/8th's pebbles on a slope. It rained this weekend and it held up. It may have been packed with a plate vibrator, or included a stabilizer.