Oriental Rock Garden Landscaping Ideas

Pathways and Stepping Stones

• Flat rocks are great for making pathways that traverse or divide a garden landscape. Rock pathways can either be orderly placed in a space to create a specific path, or they can be seemingly random sprawled across an area. In either case the add a still, tranquil and everlasting quality to a space that is otherwise hard to create with artificial materials. In making a rock pathway you have your choice of using oddly shaped stones taken directly from their natural environment or specially cut stones that comes in squares or rectangles. Although it may sound odd, placing stepping stones within another type of stone, such as rounded river stones, creates a dichotomy of shapes that makes a space both aesthetically interesting and physically navigational.

Water Features

• Rocks and water create a great contrast in an oriental garden and are often used together to combine powerful stillness with transparent flow. Whether you make a rock waterfall, pond or any other combination of these two powerful garden elements don't be afraid to get creative. One simple idea is to make a small pond surrounded by round river rocks. Another common use of rocks and water is to create a rock waterfall where water cascades down the faces of flat rocks, creating a visually enticing facade that also sounds pleasant and peaceful. Examine the rivers and rocks around your home to get ideas about how to best incorporate rock water features into your landscape. Using rocks and water to reflect your natural environment is a good way incorporate the natural beauty of where you live into your personal garden landscape.

Focal Points

• Groups of large stones or boulders are often used in Oriental gardens to create contrast and focal points. For example, Chinese gardens often place jagged boulders next to smooth surfaces like moss to create stunning contrasts that draw a viewer's eye right in. This style of powerful juxtaposition creates a significant highlight or focal point in your garden where visitors will naturally be drawn, and from which you can organize the rest of your garden around. Using vertical and horizontal rocks placed in seemingly delicate or precarious positions is a common way of creating an oriental garden landmark. This style of setting stones is meant to look natural, as if the stones had landed in such a position long ago and haven't moved since. By partially burying stones in the ground you can create this effect.