How to Use Rocks in Landscape Designs

Select rocks that closely match the native stone in your area. Although you can use various sizes of rocks to landscape your yard, keeping them all within the same color tone can help tie together the individual areas and structures within your yard, creating an overall design that blends nicely.

Use large rocks to create low retaining walls around sloping areas of your yard. Dig a shallow trench and spread a 3- to 4-inch layer of gravel prior to setting your stones. Place the bottom layer of large stones over the gravel and set another row of stones on top, creating a low wall. Fill the area behind the wall with soil to create a level surface for growing grass or flowers.

Use flat rocks to form inviting pathways across your lawn or through your garden area. Remove the existing ground cover and vegetation. Edge the sides of your path with metal or rubber lawn edging. Compress the soil with a soil tamper and lay a piece of weed-blocking fabric over the pathway. Place your flat stones over the surface of the fabric, keeping them level with one another to avoid a tripping hazard. Scatter gravel between your flat stepping-stones.

Create borders around flowerbeds, planters, sidewalks, patios and porches, using medium-sized rocks. Remove the grass or plants around these structures prior to creating borders. Use a weed-blocking fabric beneath the stones to minimize the growth of long blades of grass between the rocks.

Use large rocks and small boulders for visual impact and focal points within your landscape. Place a large rock near the base of an ornamental tree, beside a birdbath, or in front of a cluster of blossoming shrubs. Dress up the area around the boulder with pea gravel or cedar chips. Place a few plants near the base of the boulder or use small cracks and crevices in the surface of the stone to plant bulbs or shallow-rooted plants that form blossoms or trail over the surface of the rock.