Natural Stone Landscaping Ideas

Landscape with stones to improve the appearance of your yard.Lot of different sea stones. White, black, brown, motley stones. image by wolandmaster from Fotolia.com

According to Dictionary.com, the purpose of landscaping is to "improve the appearance of (an area of land, a highway and so forth), as by planting trees, shrubs, or grass, or altering the contours of the ground." You can also use natural stones in a variety of ways to improve the appearance of the landscape and to evoke a mood.

Waterfall

Build a waterfall out of stones.waterfall image by cherie from Fotolia.com

Waterfalls are not only aesthetically appealing to look at, they possess a natural calming effect. A backyard waterfall using natural stones is an effective way to add some much needed tranquility on your property.

Particularly in the American Southwest, xeriscaping is a very common landscaping technique. According to Dictionary.com, xeriscaping is the "environmental design of residential and park land using various methods for minimizing the need for water use." In drier desert neighborhoods, it is not uncommon to see succulents and cacti rising up out of a bed of small natural stones or gravel.

Consider building a rock garden.Rocks and Flowers in the Garden image by LaVal from Fotolia.com

Rock gardens make an exotic point of focus to a homeowner's front yard. Larger natural stones placed among plants such as palms, grasses, ornamental trees, ferns and flowering shrubbery present a striking appearance to guests and neighbors as they pull up to the home.

Use natural stones as a border.garden rock border image by Jim Mills from Fotolia.com

You can use natural stones as a border for a flower or shrubbery garden. You can also use smaller pebbles to create a natural and peaceful pathway with larger rocks and foliage staggered on the sides.

Building a sitting wall with natural stone gives homeowners and guests a place to rest their feet and enjoy nature. This sitting wall can be either straight or a semi-circle with a bed of flowers and shrubbery behind it. A sitting wall perfectly complements a natural stone waterfall.