If you dream of a garden landscape characterized by an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, it is worth thinking about creating a rock garden. In the stone bed, the ground is not covered with grass and mulch, but with small stones such as gravel and grit. In today's article we will show you a beautiful example of stone bed design on an area of around 12 square meters. We will also give you a few tips and ideas for creating a gravel bed and choosing plants.
The stone bed is perfect for creating small gardens or as part of a large garden where other flowers find it difficult to thrive. But such corners can still look great and decorative. The stone bed can be created next to the house, in the front garden, near the garden fence, on the terrace. It is an excellent choice for areas in the garden that are exposed to too much sun or are completely shaded, where grass requires frequent watering or does not grow at all.
Benefits of Gravel
The small stones in the bed emphasize the beauty of the plants and make the garden always look well-kept. Gravel and grit limit the growth of weeds, protect the roots of plants from the effects of temperature fluctuations and reduce evaporation from the soil. You can also hide an irrigation system or ground lights under the layer of gravel.
Which plants?
In this example you can immediately see the pleasant contrast between the light gravel surfaces and the fresh colors of the plants. In order to achieve this result, ornamental plants with expressive shapes were planted in the gravel bed. The lushly flowering perennials provide the beautiful color accents. When designing a stone bed, choose at least a few evergreen plants that would still decorate the bed in the cold season when the garden looks colorless and a little boring.
When composing, it is also important that two or three groups of plants have different sizes and heights. In this garden plan, the beautifully sculpted silhouettes of the Blue Arrow rocket junipers draw attention. These are combined with a group of low plants: Japanese azaleas and tomentose hornwort (Cerastium tomentosum). Because of the intense green color and compact shape of the junipers, the garden looks picturesquely beautiful all year round. But in spring, when the Japanese azalea and hornwort are in full bloom, the garden is overwhelmed by their pink and white flowers. To avoid monotony in garden design, you should use gravel or chippings in at least two sizes - for example 8-16 mm and 16-32 mm. It is also important to mention that plants that prefer acidic soil cannot be covered with lime and marble chips because the calcium they contain could harm the plants.
List of plants in the garden plan
1. Kies 8-16 mm
2. Kies 16-32 mm
3. Walkway with wooden discs as treads
4. Raketenwacholder Blue Arrow
5. Japanese azalea
6. Hornkraut – Cerastium tomentosum
7. Japanese Spiraea – Spiraea japonica
8. Bergkiefer – Pinus mugo “Mops”
What is important
Before you start creating the stone bed, you need to dig up the area and carefully clear it of weeds. A few days later you can remove the top layer of soil to a depth of 10 – 15 cm. Use them elsewhere in the garden or in the existing flower beds. The gravel is separated from the garden path with a plastic molded edge.
Determine the location of the plants and dig holes that are twice the size of the plants' root balls. Spread fertile soil at the bottom of the hole with the appropriate pH for your chosen plants. The bed is then filled with a 2 cm thick layer of sand and covered with an air and water permeable rock garden fleece. Cross cuts are made in the fleece for the plants. The fleece is then covered with a 7-10 cm layer of gravel.
The walkway in this beautiful example is also covered in gravel. Wooden discs serve as stepping stones and beautifully complete the garden picture. To create the walkway, approximately 10 cm of the ground was excavated. The area was then covered with a 5cm layer of sand. Then the large wooden discs are placed. These have a diameter of 30 cm and a thickness of 7 - 10 cm. The gravel (8-16 mm) is then distributed around the wooden discs and smoothed.
Care for the plants
A stone bed usually does not require much care, but should by no means be neglected. The leaves must be removed regularly, preferably before they get wet, otherwise they will leave stains on the stones. Afterwards it becomes difficult to clean the stones again. From time to time you also have to rake the gravel so that your stone bed always looks neat and well-maintained.
The advantage of evergreen plants in stony beds is that you will enjoy the green color even in winter, when other plants are no longer as attractive to look at due to the lack of foliage. That's why such plant species are perfect for stone bed design. If you also use light gravel, the green color will stand out particularly well.
The bed itself is highlighted when it is framed by a lush green lawn. To do this, use several large stone slabs and a contrasting color for the gravel that you distribute throughout the rest of the bed. Since the stones already provide plenty of structure, you can choose more sparing planting. Of course, you decide for yourself whether you want green plants or colorful flowers.
If single-colored gravel is too boring for you, simply combine several colors. Since pebbles come in a wide variety of colors, you won't have any problems with this. Simply divide the bed into several areas and think about what color you want to use for which area, where plants should be planted, and so on. In this way you can create a wide variety of patterns and motifs, provided you have the imagination and desire.
Whether in the shade or in full sun, the stone bed design is suitable for every area of the garden. This allows you to create beautiful landscaping without needing a large number of plants. Beds full of pebbles are also the perfect option in minimalist gardens, where plants are used very sparingly and you still want to create an interesting structure.
Here you can see an interesting example of pattern design. If you don't want to risk the stones mixing together over time due to heavy rain and the transitions between two colors becoming indistinct, simply use metal bed borders that are inserted into the ground. Very thin models are best suited because they won't be as noticeable later. Insert the borders in the desired shape into the bed that is still free of pebbles. It can then be filled with stones of any color.
Alternatively, shaped edges can also be used for the stone bed design and for the same purpose. You can create pretty, individual patterns that separate you cleanly from the rest of the bed. You can play with the patterns and the subsequent planting. For example, what do you think of this combination of evergreens and lavender?
Just because the bed is mostly gravel doesn't mean there can't be some areas of plain soil in the middle. In the example above, a tree and an evergreen plant were highlighted in this way, with the area separated from the gravel by composite rings of natural stone. The strong contrast created by the use of white and red stones is also very beautiful.
Or how about choosing a stone bed for the terrace instead of the garden? Any type of terrace, but especially larger ones, can be loosened up in this way and look particularly interesting. A contrast is particularly recommended, as is created here by white stone and natural wood color. Feel free to plant a few plants that can replace or complement potted plants.
Gravel beds are also a wonderful addition to ponds and other water features, where natural stones are usually used for design. And whether you then continue the lush pond planting or use the bed as a gradual transition to more sparse planting is up to you. A mix of green and red leaf colors, green and flowering plants and small and large stones is anything but boring and is definitely worth considering. This example shows such a colorful bed.
