Low maintenance landscaping rocks

11 Types of Landscaping Rocks for a Low Maintenance Yard

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While using plants, grass, or wood mulch are viable options instead of rocks for landscaping, these materials also require maintenance, including water.

Low Maintenance Landscaping with Rocks

Maintenance requires time and energy, while water can drive up utility bills. However, using rocks as your landscape material can be a no-brainer and an easy solution to the problem of investing time and money into the landscaping of your home.

People have been gardening and landscaping with rocks for many generations. This includes using them for drainage and as decorative rock accents, such as in a rock garden. You can join the people of years past by using rocks in your own landscaping.

Landscaping gravel tends to range in price anywhere from $60 to $75 per cubic yard. Below, we’ll discuss the different types of rocks you can use in your yard landscaping… an excellent source for rock garden landscaping ideas.

Related: DIY Raised Rock Garden | Backyard Tree Ideas | Backyard Zen Garden Ideas

Different Types of Landscaping Rocks

1. Pea Gravel

Pea gravel is a type of landscaping rock that is composed of rocks that are each roughly the size of – you guessed it – a pea.

The rocks that make up pea gravel typically have a smooth finish, which makes this type of landscaping rock appealing both to the touch and aesthetically. Pea gravel’s aesthetic and tactile appeal, combined with its affordability, make this type of gravel a consistent favorite type of landscaping gravel.

Pea gravel has multiple uses, in addition to its mass appeal as landscaping rock. These smaller rocks are commonly used in areas that get a lot of foot traffic, such as dog runs, playgrounds, walkways, and patios.

However, pea gravel is also handy for use in areas that need drainage, including underground projects.

2. River Rock

River rocks are another type of smooth rock. River rock is a durable alternative to mulch in landscaping. Due to this natural stone’s attractive appearance, these rocks are often used to fill in the spaces between stepping stones or as a decorative rock drainage option for areas that need it.

River rocks’ smooth surface makes this type of landscaping rock ideal for use in a backyard water feature.

If you don’t have a water feature in your outdoor space or live in an arid region, river rocks can bring the same tranquility that water features do to a front or backyard when used as decorative rocks for landscaping.

The common consensus about river rock size is that river rocks of one-inch width are ideal, though these rocks are available in sizes up to three inches. However, large river rocks for landscaping leave gaps between them, and especially around a water feature, these gaps can attract creatures like snakes.

3. Flagstone

Flagstones are flat landscape rocks. They are a type of sedimentary rock that is broken up into layers. They are used in rock landscaping, typically in flatter areas, such as a path or a driveway, as paver stones.

Flagstones can also be used to build rock retaining walls, as stepping stones, as edging around a garden bed or other landscape edging, or even around a fire pit.

The two cheapest types of flagstones are sandstone and limestone, but varieties like bluestone and quartzite are also popular in rock landscaping.

These two latter landscaping rocks are each a beautiful type of decorative landscaping stone. They can be filled around using sand, but typically other smaller rocks, such as pea gravel, are used to surround flagstone stepping stones and paths.

4. Brick chips

Brick chips are a type of landscape rock that is made from bricks that have been crushed, screened, and then sized for use in rock landscaping projects.

They are typically used for trails, baseball warning tracks, walkways, as well as planting beds. Brick chips are incredibly useful for the maintenance of soil temperatures and for retaining moisture in the soil.

Both of these things can help promote healthy plant growth. Brick chips do not fade, rot, or deteriorate, and they do not attract insects. This makes them very attractive for use as ground cover in a flower bed.

5. Crushed Stones (Gravel)

Though on the surface, it may seem that landscaping gravel and crushed stones are the same things, in actuality, there is an important difference between the two.

Gravel is produced naturally, but crushed stones are typically made using man-made machinery, such as in quarries when the machinery is cutting larger rocks. These byproducts of quarrying are then gathered for sale and use in construction and landscaping.

The difference between gravel and crushed stones is evident in their appearance, as well.

While naturally-occurring gravel is typically made from water-borne sediment and therefore has rounded edges, crushed stones can have more angular sides. This is likely due to the way they are created.

6.

Lava Rocks

Lava rocks are also known as volcanic rocks. Gravel made from a lava rock is typically available in rich colors, such as burnt red.

Lava rocks can also be useful for rock mulch, as they do not decompose, which means that they don’t require replacement the way mulch does. Lava rocks are porous, which makes them useful in drainage areas, as well.

This volcanic rock can be useful in suppressing weed growth. If you lay a landscape fabric layer below a spread of lava rock ground cover, it will help to prevent any weed growth in your garden.

In order to keep weeds from growing between lava rocks, you must be careful not to allow any soil between the fabric and volcanic rock layer.

This means ensuring that the landscape fabric layer is in good repair. If soil is present between these layers, this may allow weeds to seed and grow.

7. Marble Rocks

When you think of marble, you probably also think of opulence. This beautiful landscape material brings a sense of luxury to whatever space it occupies. Crushed marble can cost anywhere from $0.80 to $1.50 per foot.

Because marble stone is made from rock that has a high pH, it will, over time, make the soil around it more alkaline. This can be beneficial to some plants, such as hydrangea flowers, whose colors change based on the acidity of the soil where they grow.

On the other hand, some plants prefer more acidic soil, so it isn’t the best idea to place marble gravel around a plant or flower bed with plants that require acidic soil to flourish.

8. Boulders

Boulders have great use in landscaping. While you probably need to hire a service to source, deliver and place them, they look great and/or can serve as retaining walls.

Boulders add texture and attract an eye in any yard, whether scattered in a large garden, stacked, placed around the base of a tree, or any other creative placement.

How much do boulders cost for landscaping? Expect to pay around $100 per boulder. Nope, it’s not cheap.

9. Beach Pebbles

Beach pebbles give a similar effect as river rock, but they’re smaller. They can be used for walkways or garden beds.

10. Retaining Wall Rocks

Another way to incorporate rocks into landscaping is with retaining walls. Retaining walls are a topic unto themselves, with many different types of retaining walls and rocks used.

11. Gabion Rock Fences and Walls

Lastly, there’s the interesting fence or retaining wall design called gabion, which is creating a fence or wall with wire wrapped around rocks.

When it comes to rocks for landscaping, there really is no wrong decision to be made. All the types of rocks for landscaping options listed above have special features as well as practical uses, and all are appealing to the eye.

Which type of rocks for landscaping you use is truly up to you and your needs and preferences.

Whether you need landscape material for a driveway, a rock garden, rock mulch, a water feature, edging for a flower bed, or just as ground cover, there is a type or type of rocks for landscaping for you.

FAQs

What is the most popular type of landscaping rocks for the yard?

Interestingly, based on monthly searches, lava rocks are the most popular, followed by boulders, river rock, gravel, brick chips, pea gravel, marble rocks, and lastly, flagstone.

What kind of rock should you use for landscaping?

That really depends on where you live, what’s available, your budget, what you’ll be using the rocks for, and the look you want.

I love the more austere look that lightly crushed stones or white marble gives off. I recognize that’s a more manicured look, but I like that. In a more rustic yard, river rock and boulders look fantastic. For walkways and patios, flagstone is perfect.

I don’t particularly like pea gravel, brick chips, or lava rocks.

Is it okay to mix a variety of different types of stones in landscaping?

Yes, absolutely, but you don’t want to go nuts. I wouldn’t mix colors too much because it won’t take long until it’s just a big messy mix. But you could use different rocks in different gardens, including different sizes, for different effects throughout your yard.

Again, you don’t want to get too eclectic, but with a good eye, you could pull this off to create a stunning yard.

Here’s an example that looks good now but imagines the effort to keep the rocks striped like that, especially if you have kids and/or pets:

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Landscape design stones: varieties and uses

Stone is a popular and relevant element of modern landscape design, which is often used in the design of suburban areas. Landscape stone boasts the following set of advantages:

Decorative
Aesthetics
Naturalness
Environmental
Strength
Durability
Utility

Landscaping stones: varieties

Granite is one of the most durable and expensive materials. It easily withstands any aggressive manifestations of the external environment, whether it be snow, rain, hail or temperature changes. Keeps an excellent appearance with a shiny surface without cracks and chips for years, can withstand high loads. Granite elements are especially appreciated for such unsurpassed stability and are widely used in alpine slides, in the design of retaining walls, in rockeries and for other landscape elements. The main colors of natural granite are white, black, red. But this stone needs to be balanced in color as its shades are very dark.

Diabase - mainly green stones with sandy veins of volcanic origin. They can be found in purple, black or dark gray. Luxurious glossy sheen makes diabase very effective. The stone is not inferior to granite in strength: it can withstand temperature fluctuations and high static loads without damage. In design it is used as an element of rockeries, rock gardens and as a bright accent in monotonous compositions.

Dolomite is a durable stone with a rich color palette of light and warm shades. Among the variety, you will find beige, white, and greenish-gray options. Sandstone is gray, reddish, crimson or yellow. It differs from other stones in its embossed surface. Sandstone is a stone similar in properties to dolomite, but differing from it in a palette of shades.

Dolomite and sandstone are sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks of stones, albeit slowly, but nevertheless are destroyed under the influence of the external environment and lose their decorative effect. The process of destruction lasts for years, but it cannot be avoided. Therefore, when choosing sedimentary rocks as an element of landscape design, be prepared for their fragility.

Slate is a strong and resistant stone mixture of mica and quartz. The most common stones are black, gray and gray-green shades, less often - yellow, red and purple. The most valuable options are light-colored slates, which delight with their shade and shiny surface. Slate easily splits into thin plates, can be processed, therefore it is widely used in garden compositions and for cladding facades of buildings, retaining walls and rock gardens.

Jasper - bright, beautiful, opaque semi-precious stones with an amazing pattern in the form of stripes, ribbons and specks. Stones are blue, red, purple, green or gray. In oriental-style gardens, platforms and flowerpots are decorated with stone chips of jasper. A crumb of a blue tint is great for creating dry ponds. Large stones act as accent elements in rockeries and rock gardens. Jasper flagstones are used to line retaining walls and foundations of houses. Jasper is not afraid of the impact of the external environment and does not lose the intensity of the shade over time.

Quartzite - smooth shiny stones based on quartz sandstones. The main color is grey. It is most often found in nature. The rarest species is crimson quartzite, which can only be found in the Onega region. The palette of this type has many shades of pink, raspberry or red. Quartzite looks luxurious on sunny days, when its smooth surface reflects the sun, creating playful highlights, and inclusions of minerals shimmer with all sorts of shades. Valued for its incredible strength and decorative effect.

Serpentine is a hard and durable rock with an amazing color that varies from dark green to light green. Looks great in rock gardens and in the design of artificial reservoirs. Large serpentine stones can become accent elements of a landscape composition.

Migmatite - when you look at this stone, it seems as if it comes from some unknown planet: an amazing pattern of multi-colored stripes from dark blue to rusty and sandy, painstakingly created by nature itself, and a relief of furrows and depressions create an incredible decorative effect . Migmatite is a durable material that can be used without fear in paving paths and as an artistic element in landscape compositions.

Limestone is not recommended for landscaping - it is a soft material that breaks down quickly on contact with soil and water. Dissolving, it penetrates into the soil, increasing its Ph (salinization occurs). Under such conditions, it is difficult for plants to absorb nutrients, even if fertilizers are applied in a timely and systematic manner.

Stones in landscape design: a selection of interesting solutions

Paths

Paving with stones will become not only a stylish element, but also a practical solution. In modern landscape design, both step-by-step and main paths are made of stone. For paving the main paths, wild flat stone is often used, and for step-by-step paths, special slabs of granite or sandstone are used. The modern assortment of stones offers a large selection of such slabs: you can find large-sized, aged, and various shapes. When paving the main path, do not use backfill, crumbs or small pebbles. These stones will get stuck in the soles of your shoes and spread throughout the area, creating an untidy garden look.

Retaining walls

Retaining walls are a necessary element of areas where there is a slope. On the one hand, they strengthen the soil, and on the other hand, they become a decorative design element, allowing you to create multi-level gardens. If the elevation difference on the site is large, then you need to build a retaining wall that will protect against landslides. Cover its foundation with thin plates of natural stone to make this complex engineering structure a stunning decorative element. An excellent design solution would be to veneer the foundation of the house and the retaining wall with the same stone. Thus, the landscape will be harmonious. If the difference is small, then you can immediately use the stone. Choose suitable wild stones in the store, stack on top of each other, creating a unique landscape on your site. Such walls can also be erected for decorative purposes: to construct a fence, create a multi-level garden or decorate a slope. Pay attention to the restrictions on the height of retaining walls without a foundation. Such walls cannot be designed too high.

Rockery

Rockery is a composition of stones and plants on a plane. From the outside, it seems as if you are deceiving nature - plants grow directly from stones. But in reality, all it takes is a bit of good planning. Any coniferous or flowering plants are suitable for rockeries, and choose stones so that they are combined with other stone elements on the site: building cladding or paths.

Rock garden (alpine slide)

A rock garden is a composition of stones and plants that imitates natural alpine landscapes: the slopes and gorges, decorated with vegetation, remind you of traveling to the mountains. The right rock garden, as a rule, needs a large area and plants from the alpine area, which in the middle lane must be carefully looked after, and some even shelter for the winter.

Dry waters

A dry reservoir - a dry pond or a dry stream - is a stylish and unusual element of the landscape. Artificial recesses in the ground are covered with bluish, grayish and white stones, imitating a river or a pond. Plants are planted along the banks. You can install a decorative bridge or organize a “green” island with coniferous and flowering plants, adding credibility to the landscape. Such a pond looks amazing, especially with thoughtful lighting.

Czech rolling pin

The Czech rolling pin is an imitation of real rocks using flat stones laid at an angle to the ground. Plants are planted between groups of such stones, creating amazing compositions that are so pleasant to admire. To make the Czech rolling pin especially decorative, try playing with shades of plants that will emphasize the relief of the composition.

Rock garden

The rock garden is a gift from Japanese culture: a composition of unhewn stones arranged in a certain order on gravel. Sometimes coniferous or deciduous plants are added, emphasizing the severity of the stone. As a rule, the background for such a composition is gravel dumping, which is laid out in colors, imitating waves. This garden is ideal for those who love peace and privacy or appreciate Japanese heritage. In order to create such a garden, you need to delve into its philosophy and understand all the subtleties.

Gabions

Gabions are the most flexible stone construction, with many uses ranging from fences and firewood to small figurines. It is a frame made of metal mesh, the base of which is filled with stones.

Recreation area and fireplace

No homestead is complete without a recreation area. Decorating it with stone is a great move. Firstly, this is a stylish solution, and secondly, the stone will keep the neat appearance of the territory for a long time, interfering with the growth of weeds. Lay out a stone platform, install several benches or chairs, and put an interesting-shaped fire bowl in the center, and a cozy corner for relaxing with family and friends is ready.

Size and shape matter

Landscape stones have the following classification:

Lump — stone up to 50 cm in diameter with faceted, sharp edges.
Boulder is a rounded stone up to 50 cm in diameter.
Cobblestone — stone up to 20-50 cm in diameter, rounded. Dumping (crushed stone) - a mass of crushed stones with sharp edges 5-10 cm in diameter.
Pebbles — flat-rounded stones. Pebbles are divided by origin: river and sea. In industrial conditions, pebbles are made from granite, marble and quartzite. Pebble size is determined using fractions. So, for example, pebbles of fraction 2-4 means that this stone mass will contain round stones from 2 to 4 cm in diameter. Pebbles fraction 5-10 means that there will be stones from 5 to 10 cm in diameter.
Crushed is the smallest form of crushed natural stone. Usually it is a marble crumb.
Slabs are free-form natural stone slabs that are approximately uniform in thickness. The thickness of flagstone varies from 10 mm to 70 mm.
Rubble stones are small stones of rocks that are mined in quarries or in the mountains.

In landscape design, you can use any size. Boulders and cobblestones will harmoniously fit into an alpine hill, cobblestones will decorate flower beds and become the basis for a retaining wall, pebbles will be suitable for creating an integral space of a recreation area.

How to properly use landscape stone on the site?

1. Create a project. In order for stone to become an integral part of your landscape relief, it is necessary to think over the concept and design, taking into account the size of the site, the location of the main buildings and the style. A marble five-meter Apollo will look comical in a small area with a wooden house, and a miniature rockery will simply get lost surrounded by huge pine trees.

2. Calculate the required amount of stone . This is one of the most important tasks: if you buy less stone than you need, you will have to buy more. And to find exactly the same natural stone is not always possible. And you can accidentally buy more than you need. Given the cost of some types of stone, this is at least not economical.

3. Place the stone correctly. Properly laid stone is pleasing to the eye and does not cause any problems. But laying errors not only “lubricate” the decorative effect of the entire composition, but can also cause damage to plants. At best, the stone element will need to be removed or relocated. At worst, the plants will have to be replaced.

4. Take into account the peculiarities of style. A competent combination of species will help emphasize the beauty of the plantations, and the logical repetition of the selected combinations throughout the site will allow you to decorate the landscape in a certain style, avoiding the effect of fragmentation.

5. Maintain level. Sometimes, the stone element turns out to be crooked. This is due to the fact that initially the shrinkage of the structure was not taken into account or the surface on which it was installed was improperly prepared. Even more often there are cases when the stone elements did not coincide in level with the lawn. Such errors are striking and make the site sloppy, even if it is a very expensive material surrounded by luxurious plants.

The choice of material and landscape solution is completely dependent on the taste and wishes of the customer. The stone adds relief, uniqueness, reflects the individuality of the customer and helps to create a design full of harmony.

If you want to create a landscape project for your site quickly and professionally, we invite you to the landscape studio of our garden center. Professional designers will bring to life any of your ideas, consider zoning, help you choose plants and materials: your beautiful garden will delight you for years and delight your guests.

More about landscape design.

35 photo ideas on how stones and boulders can be used in landscape design

People have long noticed that the combination of living plants and lifeless stones creates a special peaceful atmosphere. We present you ideas that will transform your site and allow you to fully express your imagination.

In landscape design, stones are used as a decorative element, as well as to imitate natural conditions, for example, when creating a waterfall or an alpine slide. In the first case, for decoration, it is better to take beautiful even stones or pebbles. In the second, coarser material is suitable: blocks with chips and cracks, shapeless boulders. You can take stones of different types. Limestone, sandstone, tuff, marble, granite look great.

Stones of various sizes and shades can successfully decorate any suburban area. They will look especially good in a flower garden, near ponds and benches. But in the garden near the trees, it is better not to place stones so that in the future there will be no problems with cleaning the territory.

If you don't have many stones on your property to create compositions, there are several ways to get them. The easiest, but also costly, is to buy cobblestones at a hardware store or garden nursery. It is more budgetary to look for stones in forest fire ditches. Some of the stones can be found on your own when digging the garden or ask your neighbors.

So let's look at how you can use rocks and boulders in your landscaping.

Create an alpine slide with your own hands

You have probably heard more than once about the beauty of alpine slides (rock gardens), which imitate rocky natural landscapes. Creating a similar flower garden in the country is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. There are no strict rules for decorating a rock garden; stones can be placed in a slight mess. The layered effect will give the alpine slide naturalness, otherwise it will just be a flower bed decorated with stones.

To create a slide, you need to dig a pit and be sure to make drainage. If possible, you can delegate this to special companies that deal with landscape design.

Select stones in the same color range and the same type. Don't forget about the plants, they will need enough space, so plan your planting spot right away. It is best to plant slow-growing and unpretentious plants: stonecrops, saxifrage, junipers, etc. And do not forget to treat the soil with herbicides before planting.

More colorful ideas for creating an alpine slide can be found in our article.

Create a rockery - a luxurious stone flower garden

If it is important not to overdo it with stones when creating an alpine slide, then in the case of rockeries, the opposite is true. Here, stones, boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand solo, and plants only complement the inanimate material. Rockery has its own characteristics: usually it does not have tiers, only the addition of stone peaks is possible. Also, it is not necessary to place it in the most visible place, a site without strong illumination will do. Plants in rockeries must be combined. A variety of coniferous crops, succulents, annuals will look beautiful.

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Decorate your garden with a dry rock stream

If you want to quickly create a long-lasting and attractive composition that does not require much maintenance, choose a dry rock stream. It is quite simple to make it, in addition, you can take any plants for decorating a stream, not necessarily moisture-loving ones. The composition will not attract mosquitoes, but if necessary, will be a good place to drain storm water. Make the base of the stream from small stones, and place large cobblestones along the edges. Or fill the entire stream with pebbles of the same size. See the slideshow below for design ideas.

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Lay a stone path in your garden

Stones make a great base for a garden path. You can use different materials for it, but it is best to choose cobblestones or rounded rubble stones. Sandstone with an anti-slip effect is also suitable, but it is quite expensive. Of course, you should not make stone paths throughout the site, they are not always convenient for transporting goods. Therefore, a small path near the house will be enough. Complete the edges of the finished path with undersized plants, for example, stonecrop.

housedb.ru

protoolzone.com

Make a simple and effective flower bed with boulders

If you don't want to do anything complicated, just try placing stones in the flower bed. For example, a large rough boulder will look beautiful surrounded by bright colors. Try not to surround it with too tall plants, otherwise there will be some effect of neglect. Several stones can be placed on all sides of the flower bed, and it is better to choose material of different sizes to make the composition look more interesting.

Build a waterfall on the property

Pleasant splashing water and small rainbows - all this will become possible if you have your own waterfall on the property. Rocky rocks and stones are an integral part of any waterfall. You will also need pebbles for the bottom and beautiful smooth cobblestones to decorate the "shores". You can supplement the natural imitation with ledges and rapids, then the waterfall will be especially stormy and attractive.

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Plants for composition should be selected according to their moisture requirements.

Decorate your flower beds with stone borders

Decorating your flower beds with stones is a simple and beautiful way to transform your garden. Thanks to this border, plants will not grow, and the appearance of the site will become neater. Place large cobblestones in one row, and place flat pebbles in the form of small towers. Stones do not have to be dug in, over time they themselves will begin to go into the soil.

Use rocks as mulch

Gravel or crushed granite mulch can be used not only on garden paths or between beds, but also in flower beds. Stones are a durable material, so this mulch will last you for many years. But be careful, in too hot weather, such an inorganic mulch can cause overheating of the roots and even death of plants. Therefore, either make the stones part of the composition, or choose a flower bed in the shade or partial shade for mulching.

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Make stylish gabions out of stones

Gabions are wire mesh structures filled with stones of various shapes and textures. Gabions are very strong, durable and practical. With their help, you can strengthen the slope of the site, which is located in the lowland, or arrange any landscape object - from an alpine hill to a waterfall. This design also looks unusual as garden furniture. Making gabions is not easy, but the result is worth it!

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Decorate the shores of a pond with stones

Stones go well with the water element, so they should be near a small pond. Thanks to the stones, you can hide the artificial materials from which the pond is made, as well as give it more picturesque. In addition, the stones will extend its service life. For stability, stone blocks are fastened with cement.