How to Use Rocks in Your Home Landscaping Projects

One great way to bring your yard to life is by decorating it with rocks. This type of landscaping works well with a shaded area or one that does not have soil conducive to plant growth. Using rocks in your garden is an eco-friendly solution to design; here are a few things to remember when starting a project that uses this material.

Decide where you will incorporate rocks

To begin, you could use gravel mulch as a base. Though more expensive than wood mulch, rocks give your landscaping longevity. Also, gravel provides an attractive contrast to foliage and shrubbery. 

Aside from using gravel mulch, you could also use rocks as edging for your flower beds. You could either lay rocks around the edges of your flower bed or build a raised border around your plants. Either way, stone edging allows you to anchor your plants. Also, rock edging complements the look of homes with a stone façade.

You could also go all-out and install a rock garden. Allocate space in your yard for combining boulders, river rocks, and low-lying flowers in eye-catching configurations. Keep in mind that the best plants to use for rock gardens are ground orchids, decorative cacti, portulaca, or similar plants.

Besides using rocks on the landscaping itself, you can use it as a border for your deck or patio. A pebble border is the best transition from an outdoor living space to your lawn or yard. You could also maximize your area by setting up a container garden along your pebble border. Doing this gives your yard an extra pop of colour without reducing patio space.

You could conserve water by using xeriscaping in your yard. When you implement this design solution, you use desert-dwelling plants to decorate the lawn, replacing the grass with stones and boulders. 

Set your redesign up for success

After deciding how you will use rocks in your garden, you can get the best results by following a few guidelines. 

First, prepare the area where you will place your landscaping. Remove weeds, existing plants, and grass where you want to have the installation. Make sure you get everything out, down to the roots. Otherwise, the plants might grow back up and interrupt the design. If you’re alright with it, you could spray herbicide to prevent regrowth. Make sure to do this two weeks before the installation, so it completely takes effect.

Once your area is ready, lay down landscape fabric. Doing this prevents weeds from growing and reduces erosion. If you have landscape fabric, you stop the stones from sinking into the soil. Make sure you maintain a three- to six-inch overlap between the ends of the fabric strips and use U-shaped staples to anchor the edges.

After you have secured the plant fabric, be mindful of where you’ll have plants, if any. Before planting, cut an X in the textile and pin it back so that you can tuck the plants in neatly. Finally, after you have secured the plants, install the rocks you will use in your design.

Conclusion

Combining rock with flowers, succulents, and trees is a great way to save water, reduce the upkeep you need to do in your garden, and minimize the need for fertilizer. When thinking of using rocks in landscaping, it is best to consult experienced contractors who specialize in designing and constructing lawns and yards.

For landscaping that showcases your home’s personality, turn to Classic Landscaping today. We are landscapers in Winnipeg, passionate about delivering artistry and creative design to all our clients. Get in touch with us today for more information!