How to Landscape With Steep Grade Flat Rocks

Home landscapes include a range of gardens, planting beds, lawns, trees and shrubbery borders but rarely stop at vegetation. Patios, porches, walkways and gazebos provide hardscape and detail to the landscape and give gardeners stable, secure places to walk and sit. Items such as flat flagstone, decorative landscaping stone, pavers and river rock make themselves useful as both hardscaping and decoration. Draw up a plan for your rock and stone usage and use flat and round rocks throughout the yard for both function and decoration.

Shovel
Rake
Wheelbarrow
Organic compost

Instructions

- 1
  Draw your plan first and get an idea of where you want the stones. Planning eliminates multiple moves of the stone and saves effort. It also indicates how many stones you need.
- 2
  Plan a stone walkway along an edge of the yard or through the garden and plan small "islands" of stone in unused sections of the lawn or landscape for details. Stand pieces of stone upright against the walls of flower beds or erect the stones in the borders of the flower beds to build walls. Stick pieces of stone in the ground in individual places as details through the garden and use these stones for vining plants such as ivy and nasturtiums. Stack pieces of stone to build casual walls and fill the area with organic compost for raised beds.
- 3
  Move the stone to your designated locations using a wheelbarrow. Dig 1-inch trenches for stone to sit in for more security or lay the stone on top of the existing soil. Always rake the sites first for an even, secure foundation and settle the stones firmly by rotating and rocking them into place. Fill the cracks between stones with organic compost to keep the stones in place and fill the empty spaces.

DIY Smudge Pots

Repairing Sidewalk Expansion Joint Spacing

Landscaping Walks & Pathways