Landscape Rocks: A Guide to Decorative Stone

 

Landscape Rocks: A Guide to Decorative Stone

 

A yard or garden just isn’t complete without stone. It truly makes a huge difference to see your yard with the accents that landscaping stone creates for your aesthetic. There are many variations of stones and hardscapes that can make your yard unique. Whatever you are looking for, there are ways to strategically place stone in your yard design to make it happen. Decorative stone is beautiful, classic, and elegant. There are varying types, sizes, and even colors to choose from. 

 

Landscaping Rocks

In design, white space or negative space is very important. When you want something to stand out or blend in, you can use white space to alter perception. It is strategic and meaningful, but most of the time you don’t notice it unless it is meant to stand out. Landscaping rocks are your yard’s white space. For example, if you wanted to place a fountain in your yard in a central location, and you wanted it to stand out, you surround it with neutrally colored landscaping rocks. This makes the fountain pop and look beautiful. There are several kinds of landscaping rocks available. 

 

Lava Rock

A light, porous rock, lava rocks, or volcanic rock, are a classic in many yards. They can come in smaller or larger pieces, and are usually red, dark brown, or black. These are useful in many yards, but they aren’t recommended for people with young children as they can be sharp, and break easily. They also aren’t recommended for wetter yards, as they can break apart and stain sidewalks or driveways when they are very wet. These are great accent rocks. 

 

Brick Chips

While these are man-made rocks (they are actually pieces of brick), they can be used as sturdy and strong landscaping rocks. Brick chips are most often used for driveway stone or even as mulch. They are reddish-brown, giving a terra cotta feel to the home. 

 

River Rock

Somewhat similar to crushed gravel, river rock is rounded and is made of a variety of stones. This is a great rock style that has fewer rough edges and can be great for children’s play areas. They come in a variety of sizes and are very useful. You can even get river rocks implanted in your concrete to help with erosion and provide a unique look. There are many ways to use this in your yard to accentuate certain parts and have a clean, effortless look. These rocks are usually sorted in shades of brown or gray. 

 

Crushed Gravel

Crushed gravel is the most common form of landscaping rock and can range in price, color, size, and weight. This type of landscaping rock is commonly used as accent rocks, to lay pathways, or to create white space. It lasts a long time and interlocks very well to help you avoid any empty spaces. Some common colors include black, dark or light gray, pearl white, pink, and even multicolor or green. 

 

Marble

Marble chips are another common landscaping rock. These are most often white and are often placed inside water features, covering soil, or in gardens. These range in size and are beautiful accent rocks. However, these need to be used with caution as they can change the pH of the soil, and this can damage certain types of plants. 

 

Hardscape

Another way that decorative stone is used is by creating a hardscape. This means anything from large garden rocks to retaining walls and walkways. Decorative stone can work magic in your yard, creating a beautiful contrast to vegetation and soils. There are several types of hardscape to choose from to beautify your yard. 

 

Retaining Walls

Most retaining walls are built from flagstone, concrete blocks, large river rocks, or other strong and sturdy rocks. These walls work functionally to hold together a terrace, which can be covered with vegetation, grass, or other design elements. They also work as a beautiful accent to your yard, so choosing the right kind of decorative stone is important. There are several ways to go about building a retaining wall, so make sure you build yours safely so they don’t collapse or break through the rocks. You can always hire a professional to make sure they are done right! 

 

Large Stones

Big beautiful decorative stones can make your yard unique and classy. There are many kinds of beautiful stones you can purchase to place in your yard. When you get a large landscaping stone, remember that certain types of stone are better than others. Harder stones will last longer and won’t erode as quickly, but they can be much heavier and harder to transport. Softer stones can erode and may have other issues like staining the ground or rocks around them. You also want to make sure if you have a very wet yard to avoid rocks that will grow a lot of moss, as this can attract bugs and other pests into your yard. 

 

Walkways

While you can use certain landscaping rocks to create walkways, you may want to use larger stones to create paths in your yard. This can be a great way to create a certain aesthetic in your yard. You can place large rocks encased in concrete as well to have a cobblestone effect. Also, placing large flat rocks within a bed of smaller decorative stones can make a simple pathway. There are so many ways to develop it for your taste and needs. 

 

Landscape Rocks and Your Yard 

There are truly endless options to create a beautiful yard design using decorative stone. When you want to get started, you can absolutely make any budget work with landscaping your yard and creating what you want. Finding the right design can be difficult, but we are ready and willing to help you get started! We can take all the difficulty out of the equation and help you figure out a price point, create a design, then actually bring in the materials and build the yard design for you. Let’s make your dream yard a reality!