Answers to Your Landscaping Stone Questions

Posted on: 18 May 2021

You can have landscape stone delivered right to your home, which is very useful when working on a landscaping product. Before ordering, make sure your questions about using stone in the landscape are answered.

Where Is Stone Best Used?

Landscape stone is well suited to many applications in the yard. Often, it is used to mulch pathways or to cover bare soil in garden and bed areas. You can use stone alone or it can be used as a filler between paving stones. It works well as a mulch for plants that require a lot of drainage, such as in succulent beds. It can also be used to pave small patio areas or the space around a garden bench. 

Is Preparation Required Before Installation?

Generally, it is a good idea to line the base of the installation area to prevent weeds from growing into the stones. A landscape fabric liner also prevents the rocks from migrating into your soil, where they will be hard to remove if you ever want to update your landscape design. Basically, all you need to do is remove the turf and dig down several inches to create an installation basin. Line the basin with the landscape fabric and stake it in place, then install the stones over the top.

Are There Stones for Specific Purposes?

Certain types of stones are well suited to different purposes, but no one stone is only for one specific purpose. Pea gravel is often used to cover a patio or fill in spaces between paving stones because it is small enough to be walked upon easily and to be raked to near-perfect smoothness. Larger round river stones are often preferred in rain gardens and dry creek beds, as they maintain large spaces between them that allow water to seep through and drain away.

Should One Combine Stone Sizes and Colors?

It depends on your design needs. When being used as paving, such as on a path or patio, the main surface should be a single size, but you can vary color as desired. For decorative uses, such as mulching garden beds or building dry creeks, combine different sizes, types, and colors to create visual interest in the same manner that you would when combining plants in the garden.

Is All Landscape Stone Natural?

In terms of it all being made of natural minerals, yes, landscape stone is natural, but concrete is also sometimes used to make a stone landscaping product. Concrete gravel is made from milling recycled concrete into aggregate chunks. This type of landscaping stone isn't typically used for decorative purposes, but it may be used as a base layer under patios or walkways.

Contact a landscape stone delivery service to learn more about your options.

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