These 15 Rock Garden Ideas Prove Your Yard Could Actually Benefit From Less Plants
Rock gardening was introduced during the industrial revolution to bring beauty to the degrading European countryside. At the time, there was one dominant practice, whereas now rock garden ideas abound. No matter the form, rock gardening emulates natural habitats and brings visual interest into landscaping. Though at first thought this garden design may seem stuffy and formal, in reality it is practical and fun—and is currently having a major resurgence. Level up your routine with the following rock garden ideas and create one of your own.
What is a rock garden and why would I incorporate one into my landscaping?
In the most basic sense, a rock garden is an area of landscaping that combines rocks, pebbles, or boulders with plants. Joseph Tychonievich, editor of The Rock Garden Quarterly, explains that rock gardens have two main functions. The first is to create well-drained conditions that mimic different plant habitats; and the second is aesthetic. “Rocks are beautiful, and there is something magical about delicate-looking plants growing and thriving in the spaces between harsh, austere rocks,” says Tychonievich. Functionally, rock gardens can be a thoughtful, low-maintenance way to work within the parameters of your outdoor space, using the landscape you already have.
Similarly, Panayoti Kelaidis, senior curator and director of outreach at the Denver Botanic Gardens and president of the North American Rock Garden Society, expresses how “rocks are nature’s sculpture: They are durable, permanent features of an often ephemeral landscape.”
What is the history of rock gardening?
Kelaidis explains that the earliest rock gardens can be traced to the first millennium in China, where they were the centerpiece of the landscaping. This type of gardening can be seen in the great gardens of Suzhou to this day. Japanese rock gardens followed and morphed into a more “meditative and almost religious setting, with less emphasis on plants for their own sake,” he says. The type of rock gardening that’s mainly practiced today came about as a reaction to urbanization during the industrial revolution as a way to bring nature into the blighted landscape and give people a connection to the natural world.
What are the benefits of a rock garden?
One big benefit is that rocks and stones can be placed in a way that aids a landscape. For example, rocks can provide a solution for a yard with a steep incline by creating a way to plant flora on a slope. Rock garden design can also help with drainage in perennially wet areas, and these gardens can shelter homes from roads or neighbors.
On a more cerebral note, Kelaidis points to the term “biophilia,” which references the innate connection humans have with nature. Since rock gardening came about as a way to reconnect people to the natural world, installing these gardens can provide a deep sense of spiritual satisfaction—so consider situating your rock garden in plain sight, right near the kitchen window.
How do you design a rock garden?
Every rock garden is different. One might feature large rocks covered with mats of colorful ground covers, whereas another could have succulents freckled between large boulders. A completely different rock garden might incorporate greenery like dwarf shrubs, conifers, and ornamental grasses.
A great way to get rock garden ideas and start designing is to check out displays in local public and botanical gardens to get a sense for the type of garden design you’re drawn to. There are also chapters of the North American Rock Garden Society dotted across the country, which host garden tours and provide other educational offerings.
Kelaidis recommends creating a rock garden in phases and being thoughtful about planning out the design, even using pebbles and sand in a beer flat to practice for the real thing. Similarly, Tychonievich suggests testing out your design in a small format, like a plastic container, to play around with design ideas before committing in your garden.
Assess your landscape before diving in, as rock gardens are extremely site and soil specific. For example, Kelaidis says a desert crevice garden will need plenty of sun and sandy soil for the cacti and succulents. Rock gardens that feature alpine plants need fast-draining, moisture-retentive soil and should be sheltered from extreme midday heat. All in all, Tychonievich says you need a raised mound with well-drained soil and rocks. If you don’t already have an area that fits the bill, it’s easy enough to bring in soil and rocks.
If you’re a lover of nature or just want to add variety to your yard, check out the following rock garden ideas and get inspired to bring large boulders, small stones, or stone walls into your yard.
Photo: Scott Dressel-Martin, Courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens1/15Alpine rock garden
According to Kelaidis, this is one of the more traditional forms of rock gardening. Alpine gardens recreate mountain tops, where a few hardy plants grow above the treeline. Home rock gardeners mimic this look using a variety of herbaceous perennials, small trees, and shrubs like spruces, creeping thyme, and dianthus.
To accomplish an alpine rock garden, create a mound of top soil that is both fast draining and also holds moisture. Alpine plants need sun, but also need to be in an area that is relatively cool and protected from the hot afternoon sun.
Photo: Margret Hoang/Getty Images2/15Woodland rock garden
If your yard is shaded, create a rock garden that mimics a woodland forest where plants like ferns, hostas, and phlox spread between stones to create an elegant ground cover. Add different heights of plants to provide shade for the shorter ones and look for north-facing sites that get less intense sun.
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Photo: kemirada/Getty Images3/15Desert rock garden
If you’re working in a place with well-draining soil and little precipitation, consider a rock garden studded with drought-tolerant plants. These desert rock gardens do not have to be barren—they can be lush gardens situated around outcroppings of rocks. Add xeric (drought-tolerant) plants like succulents, cacti, grasses, shrubs, and desert wildflowers, and use rocks of different sizes and textures as ground cover.
Photo: Glyn Evans/Getty Images4/15Try crevice gardening
Tychonievich says crevice gardening is currently one of the hottest trends in the rock gardening world. In these gardens, stones are turned onto their sides upright and stacked close together. Plants grow in the nooks and crannies between these stones. He refers to Kenton Seth and Paul Spriggs’ book, The Crevice Garden, as an essential guide. Kelaidis explains how this style was created by Czech gardeners and is ideal for apartment dwellers with limited room, as crevice gardens “provide a long season of color and interest in a small space.” He credits the popularity of crevice gardening with reenergizing rock gardening all together.
To create your own crevice garden, source flat stones and dig them into the soil vertically (think of dishes drying upright on a rack). Use the soil found between the rocks for planting small ice plants, wooly thyme, sempervivum, and Lewisia cotyledon.
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Photo: Tim Abramowitz/Getty Images5/15Use stepping stones and paths
Encourage garden frolicking by strategically placing rocks in ways that create stone steps, paths, and trails. Consider planting along a slope and using composites of smaller rocks and smooth pebbles as a form of stairs. Plant grasses alongside the stone stairs as well as low-lying shrubs.
Photo: BasieB/Getty Images6/15Include a water feature
Add variety by bringing a water feature into your garden with an above ground bowl or an in-ground pond. Situate stones alongside the water and tuck smaller plants between the rocks. Consider sourcing river rocks from your local region. In terms of plants, think about ones that can tolerate moist environments like ferns, marsh marigolds, and flowers like globe flowers.
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Photo:n Scott Dressel-Martin, Courtesy of Denver Botanic Gardens7/15Consider hillside rock gardens
If your backyard landscape is situated on a hill, dot rocks and plants along the slope to anchor the ground and slow erosion, as nutrient-rich topsoil can wash off with moderate precipitation on steep hillsides. Place rocks of various sizes along the hill and add plants like prairie grasses, which have roots that excel at keeping fertile soil in place. Vary plant heights for visual interest with tall switchgrass, contrasted with the shorter little bluestem, for example.
Photo: Elisabeth Zander8/15Build raised garden beds
Use rocks to line flower beds, theme beds, or even as a way to create raised vegetable gardens. Add topsoil between the rocks and plant away.
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Photo: MassanPH/Getty Images9/15Try a planted stone wall
Practical needs can still create beautiful effects. Take a necessary rock retaining wall or stone fence, and use it as a habitat for a variety of plants. Elisabeth Zander, past president of NARGS and the society’s current webmaster, explains how this type of setup creates an environment where the bottom of the wall holds moisture and the top of the wall is much drier. “The more xeric [drought-tolerant] plants may live comfortably without rotting when grown higher up on the wall, and more moisture sensitive plants might thrive down at the bottom,” she says.
Photo: Simon McGill/Getty Images10/15Invoke non-traditional materials
Tychonievich says using non-traditional materials is another big trend in rock gardening at the moment. He suggests using found objects like broken concrete as focal points in the garden. “The rocky conditions on mountains and the cracks and crevices of crumbling concrete in vacant lots and abandoned industrial sites have a lot in common, and exciting new garden design is looking at where the two come together,” he says. Employ a DIY approach by using unconventional materials like discarded cinder blocks and old washbasins to bring your rock garden ideas to life. Recycling materials will not only add visual interest but also a bit of sustainability.
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Photo: Simon McGill/Getty Images11/15Consider front yard landscaping ideas
In many arid and semi-arid regions of the country, front yards filled with grass are unsustainable. Consider ditching the green grass that needs a lot of water in favor of pebbles, stones, and desert plants to create sustainable curb appeal. This kind of planting is also known as xeriscaping and works well with drought-tolerant and often native plant species, which in some areas means agaves and cacti, and in others could be coneflowers and lavender.
Photo: Mihaela Grosan/Getty Images12/15Try creating a container rock gardens
If you have a small space, don’t have a yard, or want to try your hand at a small rock garden design before committing to a larger one, grab a container, some rocks, and plants. Try recreating a mini alpine garden or a little crevice garden. Better yet, these beautiful miniatures can be moved around your yard with ease, just make sure to find a pot with ample drainage.
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Photo: Mario Fonseka/Getty Images13/15Get creative with ground cover plants
Create the effect of tiny, rolling hills with low-lying plants that will cover rocks in your landscape, giving an almost carpet-like effect. Form a mat of color by using different ground covers like woolly thyme, creeping Jenny, dead nettle, and low-growing varieties of sedum.
Photo: Andreas von Einsiedel/Getty Images14/15Add an art feature
Put your own personal touch on your rock garden by incorporating art. Sculptures, birdbaths, benches, arches, and solar lights elevate the landscaping and can be practical as well.
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Photo: Scott Dressel-Martin/Getty Images15/15Lean into low maintenance gardening
All in all, rock gardens can provide visual interest while also being extremely easy to maintain. Once built, this type of garden will start to take on its own form as plants fill in between stones, which can be extremely rewarding. As Kelaidis says, “For me, rock gardening is not a pastime—it’s a palpable way of creating harmony between civilization (which I respect, but which has done much to ravage nature) and nature herself (I don’t think she fancies civilization too much). I have found that almost anyone exposed to an artful rock garden will become inspired and want one for themselves.”
