Table of Contents
Instructions Build the First Course. Clear the area of grass or other organic material, if necessary. Add the Second Course. Plan the second course of stones. Select Plants for Your Rock Garden. Start your plant selection by choosing a color scheme that will work well with your stone. Plant Your Rock Garden.
How do you prepare the ground for a rock garden?
A good rock garden soil mixture consists of approximately equal parts good quality topsoil, fine pebbles or gravel and peat moss or leaf mold. You can add a small amount of compost or manure, but use organic materials sparingly. As a general rule, rich soil isn’t suitable for most rock garden plants.
What do you put under a rock garden?
Mulch is anything used to cover the landscape bed. Mulch can be shredded wood, pine needles, straw, sawdust, gravel, or river rock. Here in Nebraska and Iowa, hardwood mulch is most commonly used and readily available.
How deep should a rock garden be?
The suggested depth of coverage varies according to the size of the individual stones. If the stone size is 1/2-inch or less, the suggested depth is 2-inches. Stones that are 3/4-inch to 1-inch should have a depth of about 3-inches. Stones that are 1-inch or larger should have a depth of 4-inches.
How do you build a drainage for a rock garden?
The Dirt: Laying the Foundation for a Rock Garden Step One: Excavate. Choose the exact site of your rock garden, and section it off with posts and string. Step Two: Put down the drainage layer. Step Three: Put down the sand layer. Step Four: Put down the soil layer.
Should I put landscape fabric under rocks?
Why should I use landscape fabric underneath rocks? Landscape fabric creates a barrier between the rocks and soil. When it comes time to remove the stones, you can quickly shovel them off the fabric instead of digging them out of the ground. The fabric also prevents weeds from cropping up between the small stones.
Does a rock garden need soil?
Rock garden plants need good drainage. My soil is clay with large chunks of flint. The soil has been well cultivated over a century but dig down 3 or 4 feet and you’ll hit clay.
What can be used instead of landscape fabric?
Best Landscaping Fabric Alternatives Wood chips. Bark mulches. Pine needles. Shredded leaves. Grass clippings. Compost. Newspaper. Cardboard.
How do you keep weeds from growing through rocks?
How to Prevent Weeds From Growing Through Rocks Start With a Clean Slate. A weed-free patch of ground makes the best base for a rock-covered landscape area. Create a Barrier. A layer of landscape fabric over the soil blocks the growth of any weeds that you miss when you prepare the site. Use Your Muscle. Get Backup.
Should I put plastic under River rock?
The plastic is only recommended for small areas of rock, not for mulched beds, graded slopes or hillsides. If you have Oaks be wary of placing rocks beneath the trees as Oak leaves do not break down quickly and you will have to blow or vacuum the leaves from the rocks to keep them looking neat.
Where can I get free rocks?
Here’s how to get all the free materials you need to landscape your garden with rocks. 01 of 06. Visit Construction Sites. The Spruce / K. 02 of 06. Help a Farmer. The Spruce / K. 03 of 06. Talk to Road Construction Crews. 04 of 06. Go Rockhounding. 05 of 06. Curb Shop for It. 06 of 06. Shop Craigslist and Freecycle.
How do you make rocks look like water?
Oil Solutions. Oil works very well for keeping rocks looking wet. Chemists love producing oil products because they can achieve some things that water and other environmentally friendly materials really cannot. For making rocks look wet, oil can produce a stunning, long-lasting end-product.
How do you make a rock drainage ditch?
How Do you Make a Gravel Drainage Ditch? Plan your trench to collect flood and stormwater and channel it downhill. Dig a trench 18 inches deep (45 cm) and 36 inches wide (90 cm). Line the trench with landscape fabric. Add a layer of gravel 8 inches deep (20 cm). Fold excess landscape fabric over the top of the gravel.
When should you plant a rock garden?
When to build a rock garden Autumn and winter are good times to construct features as there is less to do in the garden. Spring is the optimum season to plant since an extensive range of plants are available at this time.
Which is better landscape fabric or plastic?
Landscape plastic tends to be less permeable than landscape fabrics, preventing the loss of moisture and exchange of gasses with the environment. In an annual vegetable or flower garden, this is often an admirable trait — plastic mulches smother weeds and warm the soil much faster than landscape fabric.
What to put under rock to prevent weeds?
Best Weed Barrier Under Rocks Choose landscape fabric or black plastic as the underlayments. Because water passes through the landscape fabric under your rocks, holes in it need to be only large enough to fit around the bushes’ trunks.
Can I use cardboard as landscape fabric?
Cardboard Every time you make an online purchase, you get a cardboard box that can be used as a plant-friendly, biodegradable landscape fabric alternative. When you’re laying the cardboard pieces, make sure they overlap by a few inches at every seam, so weeds don’t have any space to break through.
Does cardboard keep weeds from growing?
Cardboard and mulch are effective barriers in stopping the upward growth of unwanted weeds. Over time, cardboard and the dead weeds underneath it biodegrade and help create nutrient-rich soil.
Should you put sand under rocks?
Many people use sand as a simple yet effective way of holding down their landscaping rocks. It is relatively inexpensive, easy to find, and can be purchased in large quantities at almost any home improvement store. When using sand, you must make sure the surface of your new landscape rocks is perfectly smooth and even.
