My Yard Rocks: How Rock And Stone Can Improve Your Landscaping

When you think of building a beautiful garden or yard, you may be more focused on the types of plants to choose. But also spending some time and effort on the various rock and stone structures in your yard is an important way to build up the landscape or "hardscape" of the yard. Here are some critical structures in landscaping and hardscaping design.

Driveways and Pathways

Your driveways and pathways dictate where people will spend the most time in your yard. So it's a natural thought to build up the areas around these structures first when you do your landscaping. The structures themselves provide a lot of decorative options on their own, though, too. With a great concrete contractor, you could choose various styles and textures to make your concrete different from the traditional slab. You may also embellish the concrete driveways and pathways with aggregate rocks, epoxy coatings, or even an inlay of other building materials. A concrete surface can become as much a part of your landscaping design as you want it to be.

Garden Retaining Walls

When you have multiple, small plants that are kept outside of outdoor planters, it's a good idea to add structure to the yard by using retaining walls as a visual container for your plants. Not only do they delineate planted areas from grassy spaces, but they also give the plants a better structure to build their roots in. They help contain roots from spreading into other areas of your yard. So, retaining walls are good for plants, for your yard, and for your eyes.

Masonry and Rock Structures

Stonework can add textures to a yard in many ways. Instead of having a flat surface, why not use masonry walls to change the slope of your yard? Rock structures for yards can also include decorative wells, ponds, and other features that can be custom built for your home. Each of these features adds something exciting in addition to the colorful and varied plants you choose.

So, as you can see, there are plenty of things you can do with rocks to make your yard more interesting. Your hardscaping specialist may have a lot to say about how to use these materials in a way that complements the plants you choose. When done right, a yard that includes plants and rock work can immediately increase the value and appeal of your landscaped spaces.