River rock: A big solution for your small landscape.
April 6, 2015 | By webadmin
Do you have a strange or tight space in your landscape that you just have no idea what to do with? Perhaps an area near a gutter downspout or a really narrow foundation bed? Plants aren’t always the best solution for these kinds of tight spots. Sometimes hardscaping just makes more sense. Simple river rock or beach pebbles can be a big problem solver.
We often find that river rocks are an efficient, economical and beautiful solution to problem areas in the landscape. They offer an alternative for drainage, are perfect to fill in the spaces between stepping stones and make wonderful dry river beds as a focal point in the landscape. Depending on the type of stone you use, you can create either a clean modern look, or a natural organic feel.
In the first photo, the gray Mexican beach pebble offers is a neutral complement for the red brick home. The very narrow foundation bed between the walkway and house had previously been filled with soil and plants. But the space was just too narrow for plants and the downspout produced overflow water to the area. By removing the plants and adding the stones, we gave the area a nice look and a better way to control mitigate the water from the downspout. It also requires much less maintenance!
We decided to continue this look along the house to a backyard patio and walkway. Stepping stones like these often have plants like mondo grass planted around them. But as foot traffic wore on the plants, the area just ended up looking tired. The beach pebble was a great way to clean up the space and make it easier to maintain.
Larger river rock can also be used to create more natural features in the landscape and solve drainage problems. This swale of river rocks in natural tan tones was used to complement the formal stone work in the landscape and create a focal point to draw the eye through the landscape. The swale also helps naturally capture drainage water and move it away from the home.
While plants are always the core element of a beautiful landscape, well-thought out hardscape elements help create a good backbone or frame for your plantings. They also solve the dual purpose of helping you control water and reduce maintenance needs.
