Highly versatile in use, shape, size and color, rocks are an excellent choice when landscaping your house. They not only boost curb appeal, but are also low-maintenance and affordable. Here are six ways you can add rocks to your front yard landscaping.
1. River Rock Borders
Frame front flowerbeds and other features with foot-wide, geometric borders filled with small rocks or gravel, placing them between the beds and grass. This is ornamental, but also functional, deterring grass from creeping into the bed and weeds from sprouting along the edge of a mulched bed. Choose a mulch in a contrasting color from the stones so the border really stands out.
2. Rock Mulch
Credits: Flickr/ Kyle Pearce
Rather than using wood-based mulch, fill front yard flowerbeds with rocks. These can range in size from small pea gravel up to larger stones. Rock mulch performs much of the same functions of other ground cover mulches, protecting the soil from the sun, retaining soil moisture and stopping weeds. Also, unlike wood-based mulch, rock mulch does not require much maintenance and replacement or absorb moisture during watering, allowing it to go directly to the soil and root systems where it’s needed.
3. Rock and Paver Walkway
Pair smaller rocks or gravel with natural stone pavers to create an attractive, low-maintenance walkway. The rocks allow you to expand the walkway and stop the growth of tricky-to-whack weeds and grass between pavers. You can opt for either a monochromatic color scheme or contrast two different colors. With so many styles and colors to choose from, your front walk can be the most unique in your neighborhood.
4. Raised Rock Wall Planters
Elevate flowerbeds in your front yard with raised beds edged with stacked, natural rocks. These beds can abut the front of your home or be free-standing, lining your driveway or acting as a fence along the front edge of your lawn. If you choose the free-standing type of bed, create even more dimension and height by adding tiers at the center of the bed.
5. River Rock Mosaic
Fairly uniform in shape—round or oval with smooth, flat faces—and available in a variety of sizes and colors, river rocks and pebbles are ideal for creating a mosaic for your front yard. You can make a path with individual mosaic stepping stones, pave an entire path itself with small river rocks in an eye-catching pattern or design, or affix a mosaic to the risers of concrete front steps much like that of a back splash in a kitchen or bathroom.
6. Rock Water Feature
Add an Asian feel when landscaping your house with a bubbling water feature. Contrary to what you might think, water features are neither costly nor require extensive renovations to your yard. They also don’t require much upkeep, depending on the size and formation of the feature. Some water features don’t even require a visible pond or pool. To further the Asian feel, surround the feature with a Japanese-style Zen rock garden and use large stones to accent the feature.
