Landscaping with Rocks
It is always good to have your landscaping design look as natural as possible. Landscaping with rocks is one good way to achieve this goal.
Landscaping with Rocks
Rocks are very much a part of most natural settings. From limestone outcroppings in the fields to scattered boulders in the woods, we are used to seeing the majestic look of rocks as an integral part of nature. Landscaping with rocks allows you to create a landscaping design that appears to be complete natural. Rock is durable and environmentally friendly and is not at all hard to find or expensive.
You can use rocks with your landscaping design in any number of ways. The rocks can be arranged in a particular order to form walkways or to surround gardens. Rock piles are sometimes used to conceal unnatural looking feature such as well heads or to block the view of unsightly, but necessary items such as dumpsters. The rocks can also be scattered about the area in a seemly random pattern simulating the look of nature.
Here are a few tips from expert landscape designers concerning the use of rocks. It always looks more natural to bury your rocks a few inches in the ground rather than having them sitting on the surface. The rocks will look much more natural in this manner. Simply hollow out a two or three inch hole large enough for the rock and then place the rock and fill in around it to produce a buried look. One advantage of burying the rock a bit is that it creates an illusion as to the size of the rock. The viewer is not quite sure how much of the rock is buried beneath the earth.
Another tip is to use rocks of the same geological type in your landscape design. Very rarely do wide varieties of rock colors and types appear naturally. Landscaping with rocks of similar type and color creates a much more natural appearance. Do not go overboard in the use of rocks in areas where mowing is going to be needed. Remember, the fewer obstacles that you have to circumvent when mowing the better. Even in rock gardens, such as the popular Japanese version called the Karesansui, rocks are used sparingly to create a look of elegant simplicity. It is a good rule to follow in landscaping with rocks.
It is possible to purchase and even make artificial rocks yourself and there are some applications where this is practical. However, real and natural looking rock is plentiful and inexpensive. Porous type rocks are favored over harder and smooth rock in most landscaping designs because they weather better and allow the growth of moss and lichen that gives them a much more natural look.