The reality is that no matter how much some people dream of lush landscaping design, not everyone has a green thumb. While one answer is simply hiring a garden and lawn care company to take care of maintenance, there’s an easier way: hardscaping design. This refers to the subset of landscaping that uses materials such as landscaping stones, wood and tile to create designs that don’t need a bit of watering. To give you an idea of what hardscaping can do to create a versatile and beautiful — but low-maintenance — space, here are five creative uses for landscaping rocks that can cut down on your worries:
- Low Dividers
Large boulders can be placed side by side to create a wall of sorts (though you shouldn’t expect it to keep the dogs in), but smaller stones can also be stacked in order to create more visually focused spaces. If the wall is shorter than 18 inches, such as one you might use to line a garden bed, it doesn’t even need mortar.
- Mulch Replacement
Landscaping rocks can actually be used as a replacement for mulch in many cases, surrounding shrubs and trees. It’s durable and will last many years, while mulch needs replacing every season. The only downside is that it’s a more expensive choice, too.
- Container Garden
If you’ve got a flowerbed to fill, consider choosing a few beautiful pots or gardening urns to display a hearty variety of flower. Then fill in the space between containers with equally beautiful stones and pebbles.
- Rock Garden
If even potted flowers are too much to worry about, you can eliminate the plants altogether and simply curate a rock garden. Use several different colors, textures and sizes of stones and layer them the same way you would varieties of plants (with larger, darker ones in back and along walls and smaller, lighter ones edging walkways, for example).
- Stony Centerpieces
A large boulder or broken stone can be just as beautiful as a sculpture when it comes to choosing a focal point for part of your yard. Look at a stone from every angle before choosing how to orient it so that it looks nice both from the street and from the house.
How else can landscaping rocks and stones be used in beautiful outdoor designs? Share your ideas in the comments.