Use Rocks as a Feature in Your Landscape
If you want an attractive arrangement in your yard or garden but you don’t want to spend an awful lot of money, try landscaping with rocks. You do not have to make significant purchases when working with this material because you most likely have a whole collection of them on your property already.
My husband and I decided to try landscaping with rocks because we kept uncovering stones while we were gardening, walking and playing on the property. The stones come in an array of shapes and sizes that help to create depth and interest in even the most simply arrangements.
The first thing we did was arrange a circle of stones around three large trees that are located in the front yard. Landscaping with rocks around each of the trees defined the space. Each tree has its own collection of landscape stones surrounding it. The circles are arranged a little over a foot from the bottom of each tree.
We laid plastic over the grass and weeds growing awkwardly around the trees and used the landscape stones to weigh it down. We put red mulch over the plastic to create a tailored look. The result of landscaping with rocks in this case was a high-priced look for very little money. The only investment we made was the cheap plastic and the mulch.
Next, we decided to use the flat rock found on our property for a walkway. This type of landscaping with rocks is quite different from the tree design because it is quite time-consuming especially because we have clay earth in the area we were covering. This made the area flood with water when it rained.
We dug a shallow ditch and hammered a spike into various sections of the clay. This helps the thick earth absorb more water into the ground. The shallow ditch was filled with gravel and the gravel was covered with sand. The flat landscape stones were then carefully arranged and embedded into the sand.
After several passes and some mortar to secure the stones, the walkway was complete. This time-consuming task was well worth the time and effort. The only cost was the gravel, sand and mortar along with the many hours of digging and placement.
Landscaping with rocks is a relatively cheap alternative to buying supplies from your local home improvement center. The colors of the stones are beautiful and the various tones and textures are a visual delight. We are quite proud of our accomplishment and we are happy that we used natural materials found in our own yard.
