Does your rock garden have the serenity that you desire? The rocks in a rock garden should be different sizes to create a space that makes you want to stop and enjoy the surrounding nature.
That restfulness is an advantage of rock gardens. After you have put in a rock garden, you don’t have much else to do. Though you may opt to rake the sand in your zen garden, tending to a rock garden generally requires less time and effort than traditional yard work or lawn mowing.
What is a Rock Garden?
Glad you asked. A rock garden is a type of garden that features and accentuates various carefully arranged rocks, stones, and boulders. There are gaps and crevices between these rocks where drought-tolerant plants like succulents, Agastache, or cacti can grow. This adds aesthetic value to the garden and highlights your favorite stones.
Rock gardens are perfect for homeowners who want to be creative with their landscape but don’t want to spend a lot of time on maintenance. You will have the best results with these gardens if the soil drains well, and they are low-maintenance. They also don’t require a lot of watering.
16 Calming Rock Garden Ideas
1. Add a Small Pond
If you have a backyard that you want to turn into a peaceful oasis, consider adding a small pond or a rock garden around a pond.
A small bench near the water’s edge makes for a great seat to watch dragonflies fly through the ornamental grasses, or you could skip stones across the water to make calming waves. As the hours pass, listen to the birds and you may see a frog or two jump by.
2. Build a Bridge
A bridge in your rock garden can create a sense of unity and make the garden feel more connected to its surroundings. You can make the bridge as large as you need it to be in order to span the garden’s small creek, or you can make it much smaller to use as garden decor.
Are rocks the only material you have? Large, flat stones can make excellent bridges and stepping stones. After all, you won’t be going off the theme.
3. Invite Some Wildlife
If you add koi fish to your rock garden pool, you will spend a lot of time watching them. You can spend many afternoon watching beautiful fish swim through the water. Their patterns and reflective scales are very calming.
Don’t forget to feed these new pets of yours! You’ll love having koi that come to the surface and greet you while you’re grabbing a bite to eat.
4. Watch the Waterfalls
The sound of trickling water is very calming. If you design your rock garden correctly, you can create a water ecosystem with features like waterfalls, curious wildlife, and greenery.
Your friends and family always enjoy having lunch in your backyard so they can admire the beautiful garden you have created.
5. Drought-Tolerant Rock Garden
Although rock gardens typically require less water than other types of gardens, they can still create a tranquil atmosphere without it. A rock garden that can tolerate drought can improve your mood and make you want to keep coming back.
Give them a little sugar water! If you want to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your dry rock garden, you can give them a little sugar water. Agastache plants are great for adding a splash of color to your rock garden, and they’re also drought resistant. They’re also a good way to attract wildlife.
6. Pick Some Flowers
If you don’t mind watering your plants regularly, you can add a colorful flower bed to your rock garden design to make it more attractive. Bold colors and beautiful textures can be added to your rock garden with flower beds.
Colorful flowers placed in the gaps of gray stone will create a beautiful contrast, making your home garden become the center of attention. Flowering plants can help make your yard look better and make it easier to have a good rock garden.
If you want to avoid having to weed your garden, use small rocks as mulch. This will help keep those pesky weeds under control.
7. Grow Some Cacti
Consider throwing a cactus in your rock garden design. Just don’t get too close! There’s nothing calm about sharp needles piercing the skin.
Cacti can store water, allowing them to endure dry spells. This makes them ideal for low-maintenance gardens that don’t require much watering.
Cacti are easy to take care of and can grow in many different types of conditions, making them a good choice for people who have never owned a plant before. There are many different types of succulents that come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Adding some to your rock garden can be a fun and creative way to liven it up.
8. Add Some Succulents
Succulents are a great addition to any rock garden as they provide color, texture, foliage, and shape. These plants have leaves that store water, allowing them to survive with little maintenance.
These plants are very adaptable and don’t require a lot of care, making them perfect for people who don’t know how to use a garden hose. If you wanted, you could create your own succulent garden.
9. Create a Walking Path
A stone pathway in your rock garden can give your guests the feeling of warmth and welcome.
A pathsymbolizes new beginnings and encourages you to keep exploring your rock garden.
Sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor by admiring the garden you designed. Pull up a seat and take in the view of the flowers and other plant life you’ve chosen to surround yourself with.
10. Build a Japanese Rock Garden
A Japanese rock garden, called a zen garden, is a stylized landscape with rock arrangements, water features, moss, and gravel or sand that is raked to look like rippling water.
The purpose of a Zen rock garden is to symbolize aspects of nature and to encourage meditative thoughts about the meaning of life.
It is important to understand the meanings and intentions behind Japanese rock gardens before building one, in order to appreciate the principles and centuries of culture behind them.
Backyard Landscaping Ideas for Creating the Ultimate Outdoor Living Space
You can improve your deck and backyard by making a few small changes, or by completely transforming the outdoor space with features like landscaping, outdoor rooms, and areas for recreation. Listed below are some of our favourite backyard landscaping ideas.
1. English Cottage Garden
The gardens typically found in English cottages are very charming and fit for a storybook. With a wide variety of flowers, edible fruits, and veggies, these gardens are charming and imperfect. Plant a variety of flowers and plants to achieve a picturesque outdoor style. If you want a pretty garden, plant some lavender, daisies, and other flowers in one area, a boxwood in another area, and some vines and other shrubs in another area. The number of plants you can have is only limited to those that thrive in your climate.
2. Water Feature with Fountain
Water features add elegance and zen to a backyard. The soft babbling and gentle splashes of the waterfall will relax the vibe of your outdoor space. A water fountain can be added to a backyard pond, pool, birdbath, or be an above-ground or small tabletop structure, depending on the space you have available.
3. Several Seating Areas
Having multiple seating areas is not only beneficial for backyard parties, but for other occasions as well. It makes sense to add extra seating to your outdoor area as well, given the various types of seats you have indoors. You will get more use out of your space by incorporating different chairs for different activities such as eating, lounging, and reading. It is more convenient to have different pieces of furniture placed around the yard so that you can always have a comfortable place to sit, rather than dragging the same patio chair around.
4. Minimalist Outdoor Space
Adding more landscaping elements to your yard may not be the most effective way to improve its appearance. Some people feel like a yard is cluttered when there is more furniture, plants, flowers, bird feeders, and other stuff. You need to take into account how much time and effort it takes to take care of everything you add to your backyard living space. A mess free and tidy yard will create a sense of calm and contentment. Bells and whistles are not necessary to highlight your yard’s natural beauty.
5. Multipurpose Backyard
Your backyard landscaping ideas should be based on what your entire household wants and needs. There are many things you may want to do with your yard, such as providing a space for kids to play, planting a vertical garden, planting trees for more shade, or planting flowers that attract bees and hummingbirds. When deciding whether or not to make a drastic change to your backyard that would limit its use, consider what you want to use it for and if your landscaping ideas are compatible with your lifestyle.
6. Well-Placed Retaining Wall
An attractive and useful landscaping idea for a sloped backyard is to add a retaining wall. This wall is designed to hold back soil and prevent soil erosion and potential damage to your home. It is important to understand the property line, above ground and underground utilities, and the soil conditions before building a retaining wall. The wall should also have good drainage. There are many pre-made designs that would work great with the atmosphere you want for your backyard landscaping.
7. Small Swimming Pool
If you have a pool, you know how great it is to have one. If you don’t have a pool, you probably wish you did. Blue has a calming effect and adding it to your space makes it feel like a vacation. A pool in the summer is the best place to be, whether you want to be around friends, reading, or swimming. There is a range of pools available to fit your particular needs—the ideal landscaping for your backyard pool could involve a diving board, a children’s pool, or a certain shape or size. A good pool contractor can make your pool look the way you want it to.
8. Ground-Level Deck
When you hear the word “deck,” you might think of a barbecue grill area, a cozy outdoor room, a fresh air yoga space, and many other possibilities. Some advantages of having a deck are that you have to do less work maintaining your landscaping, you have more space to entertain guests, it looks nicer, and your property value could go up. What are your reasons for wanting to add a deck to your backyard?
9. Pretty Pond
Installing a pond is a great way to improve your outdoor relaxation. If you do it well, this outdoor pond landscaping idea can become a stress-free space that makes you feel calm. You can fill your pond with fish and pond plants, such as horsetail, taro, or water lilies. The pond will require very little maintenance once the ecosystem has been established. This will free up more time to enjoy the pond. A backyard pond is a great addition to any backyard, big or small. It’s a great way to add some personality to your home.
10. Lush Lawn
The way the grass looks has a big impact on how attractive your backyard landscaping is. Well-maintained grass can make a yard look beautiful in a simple way. It’s never too late to improve the look and feel of your grass. You can overseed your lawn with a new type of grass that is more resistant to disease and pests. Investing in your lawn is a good idea whether you grow the grass from seed or get an instant upgrade with turf.
11. Gardens Galore
Just because you have a small yard doesn’t mean you can’t have multiple gardens! No matter how big or small your home is, there is always room for a garden. The style of your new garden may be different from what you had previously thought, depending on your interests and the amount of space you have. Many people enjoy having gardens with edible vegetables and ornamental tropical plants or flowers. If you’re limited on space, you can still have a garden by growing vertically, using raised beds, or growing indoors. Other options include an herb garden, succulent garden, or fairy garden.
12. Drought Tolerant Landscaping
Dry weather does not have to destroy your garden and lawn every year. Certain climates have periods of time when there is no rain and the moisture in the soil dries up. If droughts occur in your area, it is better to invest in drought tolerant plants rather than water-loving plants. Different plants thrive in different climates, so choose plants that do well in your area. Some plants that do well in many different climates are lavender, catmint, California poppy, yarrow, and artemisia.
