Increasingly homeowners are turning to river rock as part of their decorative landscaping. River rock has a number of practical uses, and once properly installed it requires the least amount of maintenance of any ground cover and is a permanent landscape solution.
Along the side of your home, draining your downspouts, bordering trees and gardens, or preventing erosion on sloped areas of your garden are a few of the more common uses. River rock resists runoff and the natural gaps between the rock provides a reservoir to allow precipitation to pool and return to the water table. It works as a heat shield during the day keeping the moisture in the soil for neighbouring plants and its many minerals provide nutrients to the soil.
River rock looks best when set among plants and mulches and a grouping of various sized colourful boulders can provide a natural year round focal point in your garden. Homeowners with small yards are replacing lawns with river rock and creating attractive gardens with no watering or cutting.
Here are a few tips if you are considering decorative rock:
• A flat area is ideal for any sized river rock from pea gravel to large rocks but larger 3-4″ rocks are best for sloped areas as they resist runoff.
• Remove dirt or soil 2-3″ below the border in the area where you wish to apply rock to allow room for the rock you will be adding and to ensure rocks don’t spill over the border.
• Always use landscape fabric. Really. You will definitely get weeds if you don’t. Also the topsoil will mix with the rock in time, they won’t look as nice and won’t drain as well.
• Granite river rock is recommended for ponds, water features and shoreline retention to promote healthy water by providing a surface for aerobic bacteria to form.
• Bury 20% of boulders in the ground making them seem as if they rolled in ages ago.
• Wind, rain and snow eventually removes the granite fines from the rocks to fully reveal the colours, texture, patterns and shine.