25 Best Landscaping Rocks for Creative Gardens

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Our gardening and landscaping guide will explore different types of stones and ideas you can use for specific classes. Remember, people began using rocks to decorate their homesteads and gardens at the beginning of time. Take your time and learn to integrate different landscaping rocks into your garden designs easily.

25 Most Popular Types of Landscaping Rocks

Read on for the best landscaping rocks to help you save your energy and effort. Here we go!

1. Decomposed Granite

These landscaping rocks comprise small and fine pieces of granite. You can find different colors for decomposed granites. Anyone planning to lay a foundation for the rock garden can use granite. Besides, it is ideal for DIY projects.

2. Crushed Granite

As the name suggests, this landscaping rock comprises small earth-toned crushed granite rocks. These decorative rocks are best for people that do not like puddles in their gardens. Most landscapers use this rock at the edges of the paths. You can expect it to last for a long if well stabilized. Ensure you maintain good drainage conditions in your garden to extend its life.

3. Pea Gravel

For pea-sized gravel, consider using pea gravel in your next landscaping project. You can find this type of rock near a water stream or body. These landscaping rocks come in different earthy tones due to years of water that constantly smooths and wares them significantly. You can find other color options for playgrounds and dog parks in your garden.

4. River Rocks

Anyone planning a water feature in the garden can choose the river rocks. These landscaping rocks remain the best because they have smooth edges. The water that constantly runs over them wares the sharp edges leaving behind smooth rocks for decorating your garden. You can do rock mulch with these decorative river rocks because they do not decompose to require replacement any soon.

5. Lava Rocks

This type of rock is best suited for the garden during winter or summer. Accordingly, lava rocks are formed from crystallized lava. You can find them in areas that exhibit volcanic activities. Water runs through these lightweight rocks.

Besides good drainage advantages, they are a natural deterrent to bugs and weeds. Most gardeners and landscapers use lava rocks to decorate gardens with plants that require minimal water. These landscaping rocks mostly retain some surface water for flowers, shrubs, and grass to thrive.

6. Brick Chips

Landscapers can also use pieces of broken bricks as decorative garden stones. Their distinctive color draws more attention to the garden than when using other rocks. Brick chips require more attention than rocks because they quickly sink into the dirt.

Therefore, begin with landscaping fabric to prevent the latter. Besides, the material prevents weeds from growing in your garden. Use brick chips to avoid bugs, improve mulch and enhance your garden’s landscaping appeal.

7. Flagstones

Most people prefer flagstone for long-lasting decorative landscaping. The walkways in parks, hotels, and various homes are made from flagstone. These landscaping rocks are in distinct shapes, such as rectangles and squares. Those looking for a temporary walkway often lay down a layer of sand for the flagstones to lie. However, consider using concrete for a permanent path.

8. Rock Ground Cover

This landscaping rock comprises beach pebbles, river rocks, and decorative gravel you use in landscape designs—Rock Ground Cover range from a minimum size of 1/8 inches to 3 inches. This rock can add color and texture to the gardening area. If you have projects with a more extensive ground area, consider using these Landscaping rocks.

9. Polished Pebbles

You can get an unmatched luster and shine using polished pebble landscaping rocks. These rocks are rounded naturally and are smooth for the best creative landscaping ideas. You can get polished pebbles ranging from ½ to 2 inches. These pebbles can

10. Smooth Rocks for Garden Pond

Everyone loves the relaxing feeling of having a body of water in the garden. This feature adds instant value to your backyard. Get smooth rocks to increase the appeal as you stand on the banks for a pond view. Improve the pond’s beauty by planting attractive water plants like floating lily pads. Ensure you landscape the borders with beautiful rocks to add to the pond’s aesthetics.

11. Pebbles for Your Pathway

Instead of flagstones in the traditional path through the garden, you can make a creative gravel landscape path for a beautiful addition. Line the path with pebbles and plant green shrubs and flowers on either side to enhance your garden’s outlook. Try and walk along this pathway barefooted for an exceptional feel from these landscaping rocks.

12. Cobble Stones

If you use cobblestones, be ready to buy by weight. The cobblestone landscaping rocks come in many sizes: small and medium. These rounded natural stones are an excellent option for landscape design. You can easily get a great realistic outlook for your garden with cobblestones—besides, anyone looking for natural water features such as waterfalls, stream beds, and ponds.

Always get as many stones as possible to explore your desired creative designs. Anyone with a garden area between 25 and 35 sqft should expect at least 1 ton of cobbles stones to cover this area.

13. Rubble Stones

Get a natural stone design with rubble stones. These landscaping rocks come in diverse shapes and sizes for every gardener to explore their creative designs—a single angular stone measures between 4 and 12 inches.

For this reason, you should buy a few rubble stones, unlike cobblestones. You can cover approximately 35 sqft with 1 ton of rubble stones. You can also build aquariums, fire pits, and stone walls with rubble stones.

14. Landscape Boulders

These are the largest landscaping rocks in the market. Boulders range between 15 and 30 inches in size. They are used mostly for natural walls and focal points in landscape design. These landscaping stones could be a great addition to your creative designs.

15. Pebbles for a Dry Creek Bed

Like in themed parks, you can use small landscaping rocks and pebbles to create a creek bed in your garden. The Welsh quartz boulders inspire this creative design in Bainbridge Island. Give your garden the look it deserves by planting different shrubs to add color to the garden. You can also plant grasses instead of shrubs.

16. Landscape Boulders for Rock Garden with Bushes and Plants

If you wish to add more boulders to your garden, you may consider having a rock design with plants and bushes. This way, you can choose different flowers colored plants for specific spots in the garden. However, preparing the ground soil to suit the shrubs, flowers, and plants you love is essential before adding these landscaping rocks.

17. River Rocks for a Pathway

Suppose you have a hillside garden; the best way to get the best rock landscape is to include a Rock River pathway. Highlight the path with these landscaping rocks and define the separation from the patio with large boulders. Use different stones to add visual interest and texture to your garden.

18. Quartzite landscaping rocks

You can find different sizes and thicknesses when it comes to flagstones. Most people use this stone for internal decoration. You can also use these soft-edged pebbles for patios, pathways and steps through the garden. They can also help keep weeds away from the paths for a beautiful garden.

19. Sedimentary Rocks for Garden Terraces

You can use sedimentary landscaping rocks for a rich design with creative ideas to enhance the outlook of your terrace. There are no better ways to do this than having different-color flowering plants in your terraces to complement the rock’s aesthetics. Some people also prefer shrubs or perennial grasses to enhance rocks’ beauty.

20. Marble Chips Landscaping rocks

Landscaping with marble chips is also another great landscaping idea. Initially, people used these stones for kitchen appeals only. However, you can now use them as a classy option to enhance the beauty of different gardening designs. Cover the soil, but always ensure you use these chips for low-level PH plants.

21. Sandstone

Its coarse texture and loose grains increase popularity, adding a realistic outlook to a landscaped area. This flagstone comes in different shades and colors, such as white, red, and grey.

22. Limestone

This type of flagstone is common for people that want a subtle vibe to their patio or walkway. Most people use the bluestone for hardscaping their garden areas. Although it comes in a few colors, this landscaping rock can give you a unique appearance once sanded and smoothened.

23. Fieldstone

This type of landscaping rock has a similar application to flagstone. The major difference is the stone’s point of origin. People mine flagstones in quarries, while others collect fieldstones from concave surface areas.

Therefore, this type of stone comes in different shapes and colorations due to exposure to environmental factors such as the sun. The most common colors are gray, brown, and red. However, no rock exhibits uniform color. The rock’s aesthetic appeal makes it a sought-after option for decorative landscaping.

24. Common Gravel

This type of stone is often used for practical purposes. However, they can blend in with your creative landscaping design to enhance the outlook of your garden. Most people use common gravel for purposes such as base foundations. They remain essential in improving the appeal of other landscaping structures.

25. Chiseled Wall Blocks

Landscapers always ensure that rocks are processed for a fine wall stone. The most important feature they consider is whether these landscaping rocks create a right angle when placed together on their flat sides. Chiseled wall blocks make an appealing uniform appearance, unlike randomly picked ones.

FAQs on 25 Best Landscaping Rocks for Creative Gardens

What size is river rock best for landscaping?
River rocks range in size from 3/4 inch to 2 inches. Larger, heavier gravel is less likely to scatter because smooth rocks are frequently used for mulching flowerbeds and line garden walks. Medium-sized river rocks might be the ideal choice for a pathway.

Should I put landscape fabric under rocks?
Regarding rock-based landscaping, a fabric bed, also known as landscaping fabric, is recommended for the foundation of your rocks. This makes them easier to clean and less likely to get dirty and become entangled in soil and tiny non-ornamental rocks.

What should I put under the river rock?
We prefer wood or other organic mulches to rock for water conservation. We advocate placing a non-woven geotextile filter cloth with a layer of huge river rock in high erosion zones and waterways to slow down the water, hold the soil, and prevent erosion.

Conclusion on best Landscaping Rocks for Creative Gardens

Landscaping rocks remain important for a gardener to explore their creative landscaping ideas. Therefore, they should inspire different landscaping ideas. Every rock garden lover wants to incorporate the water feel in the garden. A rock garden is among the many ways to add beauty to your garden.

Whether you want to include a desert-inspired rock garden in the backyard, a garden with succulent plants, or a rock garden with a water feature, you need stones to maintain a neat design and leave a greener outlook in the background and on the garden sides.

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