Romancing the Stone

The beauty of natural stone, it is beyond words sometimes. The look and the feel of such a natural product can be beyond compare. A creation of nature, no other material can bring so much character to it's surroundings, and so effortlessly beautiful whether used indoors or outdoors. And outdoors, the garden is for me where it looks its finest, looking at home and rarely out of place. No other product can you put in a garden that is inherently unique, architectural, statement, and complemental to it's surroundings. 

One of my favourite places to frequently visit is a specialist outdoor rockery centre near where we live. It is a huge place, stocked mainly of different rocks, stones, and a few other related hard landscaping materials. At one point this centre also had an Alpine plant nursery but the model of the business has changed and it is now concentrating on being a specialist rockery centre.

Pre-drilled flints for a water feature

Large Stones, Statement pieces for the garden

I love this place, I could happily spend hours wandering around, looking and thinking about the possibilities of what can be done with all of these natural products. Like a child in a candy store, or a painter in a paint shop, the choices are bedazzling and it's a wonderful sight. The place is a personal treat, for more than just the gardener, but for also the designer and landscaper in both of us. 

On our previous visits, most of the time it is just about having a look at what's available and incorporating what they have in some of the ideas we play with or with the inspirations we see from elsewhere. Since then we have made our decisions and considering the design, colour scheme, technical details, and personal creative flair on our new area, the time has finally arrived that we have to start acquiring some of the natural materials we have chosen. A very exciting period for us, and that's an understatement.

At home with the colour scheme....

Raving about Paving - tiles, slabs, and cobbles, as you can imagine the place stocks nearly every possible stone that can be used as such, whether the finish may be rough, smooth, or polished. 

Bedazzled by Sandstone, spoilt for choice...

Love at first sight, but the love affair has to wait until the next project...

and then there was 'The One'....

the one of many, and they were perfect!

Mulch made in Heaven - gravel mulch, so many to choose from, so many colours to consider, and in different sizes too.

Too Dark...

Too Brown...

Too Colourful...

Too Green

Nearly there...(Cornish Granite)

Too Perfect...

When choosing mulch for outdoor use, it's worth considering how it will look with organic matter and leaf litter falling on to it from time to time, and not just the short term appearance of looking pristine and matching the design of your garden. No matter how much and how often you pick up debris that falls in your mulched border, it will never be perfectly pure as the very first hour you mulched it, guaranteed. Will it be forgiving? Will it still look good? Or will the debris also stick out like a sore thumb?

Another thing is the porosity of the mulch you choose, especially light coloured ones. If the type of mulch turns out to be porous then it's bound to absorb some of the substrate it is resting on, as well as dirt, footprints, and soil that falls on to it, and you'll find that your 'whites and lights' will look dirty quite soon.

And so is the case for the above mulch. I think it will look great as a mulch in an indoor garden or courtyard, sheltered from the elements with very little dirt falling on it, it will look pristine for a very long time. But outdoors, it will quickly lose it's purity in appearance. 

Just right, Truly Perfect!

Sculptures, made by Nature - this is the best bit about the place, they have so many large rocks, stones, and boulders that are very sculptural and decorative. So many statement pieces that effortlessly add that something extra in your garden.

Quartz 

If we had the space and the budget, I can imagine using these balls to construct the solar system and surround it with formal planting and box hedging. Quite Italianate in concept but executed properly, it will look stunning (and what a feature!). But for now it stays in my imagination.

Sumptuous and Beautiful Green Slate, Perfect!

with Gaz for scale

With large stones like this, weight is a major consideration too, and not just the right shape and colour. We don't have the space and access for a crane so we had to limit ourselves to choosing the biggest pieces that can be lifted by a maximum of four people. We needed several, some went in on the car and had to do a couple of special trips to take them home, whilst the biggest ones of the lot will have to be delivered.

Also it's worth keeping in mind that when using large stones like this in the garden, a certain percentage of it's height, up to a third of it on some instances will have to be buried under ground to give it stability. So consider this when making measurements especially if it has to fulfil a certain look or design.

Limestone and fish keeping can be a tempestuous relationship

A little note on using limestone near ponds and watercourses. If you're intending to use rocks and stones near ponds and watercourses that will have ornamental fish in it (Goldfish and especially Koi), it's best to avoid Limestone altogether and opt for some of the more inert rocks (pH stable) like Granite, Sandstone, and Slate. Limestone will constantly leach out lime onto the water whenever it rains or the water surface comes into contact with the stone, raising the pH reading of the water and making it more alkaline. It's not so much of a problem on large or open bodies of water, but on smaller, man made pools and ponds the alkaline rise can be fatal to your fishy pets. So thinking of keeping Koi and Goldfish in your pond? Then steer clear from limestone to avoid floating and belly-up heartaches.

Petrified Wood, great with ferns, conifers, and 'Jurassic' style planting

I'm smitten with these stones and really like the earthy shade of pink swirling with the browns and whites, reminding me of cherry, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream! The colours are totally out of place to any part of our garden (for now) but I would like to keep these in mind if we make future changes. The colours would be of influence so I can incorporate them with ease.

Natural stone and gardens, a long lasting love affair that I'm happy to be involved with. We've made our choices and some of them are already in place. I'm satisfied but also can't wait to have more. 

Posted in: Stones