Landscaping your garden is an ongoing process and there are many ways to go about it. From large and small trees, bird baths, sculptures and stone walkways to pebble mosaics, the choices are plentiful. If you’re creative enough, you can mix and match various decorative elements to create a unique landscaped garden. One such easy element is river stones. Here, we share various ways touse river stones in your garden to enhance its appearance and make it more convenient to maneuver. They’re affordable, colourful and come in various sizes, making them suitable for use both outdoors and indoors.
5 River Rock Landscaping Ideas
You can create various landscapesusing river rocks. From pathways to sculptures, make your garden more visually appealing by adding your personal touch of creativity with river rock stones.
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1. Ground cover
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Everyone wants an eye-catching garden that requireslittle maintenance. An easy way to achieve this is by using unconventional and obvious textures to add more visual interest. Pebbles, cobbles and river stones in various shapes, sizes and colours are the keys to easily add appeal to your garden. Use themto cover the corners and edges of the garden along the boundary wall or to cover pathways.
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2. A dry creek bed
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Add notable visual interest to your garden by creating a dry riverbed. Surround the stone river bed design with small shrubs and grasses to add more texture. It can also act as an alternate pathway provided you choose stones that are blunt and of approximately uniform size so you don’t sprain your legs while walking.
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3. Mulch
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River rocks can also be used as an inorganic mulch. Plants can grow through the rocks and pebbles to hold them together with their roots. This creates a visual dimension and at the same time provides nutrients to the plants. You can lay the cobbles and pebbles on a weed-barrier fabric which preventsweed growth but allows sufficient water to drain through to keep plants healthy.
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4. River stone mosaic
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A little more investment and effort can help you create a beautiful river stone mosaic in your front yard to draw the attention of guests. Moreover, it doesn’t require any maintenance but will look beautiful for years to come. This is a fun DIY project for the entire family,or you can hire professionals. River stone mosaicscreate a simple design as they act as your garden pathway.
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5. A rock garden
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With varied sizes of rocks and pebbles in interesting colours and shapes, you can easily design your rock garden. There are innumerable ways to go about this idea. Clusters of various rocks, a central large piece, and making sculptures out of unconventionally shaped pieces are few common ideas used in different forms by homeowners.
Choosing the Right Type of Rocks
The following are a few rock types you can choose for your garden landscaping.
- Decomposed granite: When it wears down, granite breaks into small pieces and silt-like particles with a reddish-brown shade that looks appealing in contrast to garden greenery. Easily available and affordable, it’s suitable for pathways and imparts a rustic appeal to your patio. On the downside, ittends to stick to shoes.
- Pea gravel:These are small round rocks as tiny as, natch, peas.(Sizes usually vary between 1/4 and 5/8 of an inch.) Tan, brown, white and a mix of colours are common. They’re versatile and can be used for pathways, as well as filling the spaces between flat stones.
- River rocks:Larger than pea gravel, river rocks are smooth, rounded rocks that occur naturally on riverbanks and beds. They come in various colours, sizes and costs, and are useful for making dry riverbeds and directing the drainage system through your property.
Choosing river rocks, or any type of rocks, for garden landscaping depends on the type of design you want. We have shared several ideas on how to use river rocks for garden landscaping, as well as the different types available, to make it easier to choose. Should you need it, we’re always here to help you transform your garden with mind-boggling scenery and little effort.