Rock Installation: Transforming Your Landscape with Natural Beauty

Rock installation, while being oft forgotten, is also a gorgeous natural way to enhance your landscape. It’s sustainable, trendy, and timeless all at the same time. You may be wondering how you can incorporate rock designs into your space–if so, read on for design considerations, maintenance tips, and inspiration that totally rocks. Panning Your Rock Installation Planning your rock installation is half the fun but also half the battle. There are lots of things to consider when planning a landscape, especially when you’re getting rocks involved. Working with a professional is recommended for this step because they can help you decide which types of rocks serve which functions best. After all, not all rocks are made the same. Choosing the Right Rocks You may think it’s crazy to say that you want to make sure you’re choosing the right rocks for your space–how many different types of rocks are there, really?! But it’s more important than you think. When assessing your yard, you want to consider where you’re putting the rocks because that will help you determine whether you need river rocks, gravel, boulders, or something else completely. Design Considerations In order to choose the right rock, you want to consider color, size, texture, and purpose. Are you looking for a neutral, modern color for a classic look or something a little more colorful to enhance the colors in your garden? Do you need lots of small, smooth stones for your koi pond or a large granite slab for your outdoor kitchen? Do you need your rock to serve another purpose besides sitting there and looking pretty? Creative Uses for Rock Installation in Landscaping There are lots of uses for rock installation in landscaping, some of which may even surprise you. For example, it’s becoming more and more common to use rock or cement to completely build out your landscape–people are building rock patios with built-in planters or fire pits, for example. Let’s take a look at some other fun uses for rocks. Rock Gardens Rock gardens can either be full gardens or just part of a garden, but they are exactly what they sound like a garden that uses rocks, stones, or gravel as a landscaping framework. Besides the obvious aesthetic benefits of adding texture and visual interest to your garden, rock gardens also tend to be less maintenance-intensive than your typical flower garden. Most rock gardens are elevated in some way to allow for proper drainage of the plants, such as on a slope, berm, raised bed, or living wall. You also want to ensure that you’re using well-draining soil and placing your rocks irregularly to allow space for your plants to grow. Water Features Water features are growing in popularity, especially now that you can use rocks to give them a more natural look. Bubbling rock fountains are an obvious way to incorporate rock water features, but there are other ways too, such as incorporating them into ponds or waterfalls. There are actual benefits to including rocks in your water features:

• Plant Life: Rocks help anchor plant roots, protecting them from fish and currents and promoting healthy growth.
• Habitat: Rocks provide shelter and a habitat for aquatic life if you choose to incorporate fish or other aquatic animals.
• Pond Liner: Rocks can extend the life of your pond liner by keeping it in place, protecting it from UV rays, and keeping the ground from shifting.
• Purposeful Spaces: Large boulders provide sitting areas, making your rock addition fashionable and functional.

Paths & Walkways Paths and walkways are a classic use for rocks. They’re durable and attractive and can be combined with stepping stones, pavers, or gravel to achieve your desired result. The best part about using them for paths or walkways is that they’re highly customizable. Maintenance Tips for Rock Installation One of the biggest concerns about rock installations is how to manage and prevent weed growth surrounding them. Ensuring your soil has proper drainage in place is a great first step. You can always pull weeds as they come up, but there are other preventative measures you can take that may be easier, such as pouring boiling water over the weeds to destroy their root systems, using mulch or stones to surround your installations to suffocate weeds before they grow, using a flame torch to burn the weeds, or consider landscape fabric. Cleaning & Refreshing Cleaning and refreshing your rock installations are easy matters. Using dish soap and hose should do the trick for dirt and grease. There are also natural cleaning products you can use for fungus and mold if need-be. When it comes to refreshing, adding rocks or rearranging them to meet your needs is a breeze. Conclusion Overall, rock installations are a great way to spruce up your space. They’re easy, sustainable, and highly customizable. They also provide their own slew of landscaping benefits. If you’re looking to make your landscape look more expensive and put-together, rock installations are the perfect place to start.