If you live in a dry area or simply don't have much time to weed, water and mow your front yard lawn regularly, then a rock garden would be the perfect solution for you. AStone bed in the front gardenrequires little care and with the right design and the right plants can look very decorative and beautiful.
Today we will show you a few ideas on how you can create and design a stone bed in the front garden without much effort and time. Be inspired by the ideas and feel free to steal the ones you particularly like and simply copy them! Complete the ideas with your own and let your imagination run wild!
Easy to care for and attractive
A stone bed is a popular feature for low-maintenance landscapes. A good mix of stones in different sizes and colors and drought-resistant plants makes the front garden a real eye-catcher without you having to invest a lot of time and care. With a few rocks you can set accents and hide defects in the garden at the same time. Such large stones can be used in many different ways. Use them to mark the edge of the bed or just involuntarily place a few of these stones here and there.
Stone bed in the front garden
A special film must be laid under the layer of gravel and chippings. The so-called rock garden fleece prevents weeds from growing in the rock bed, but still allows water, oxygen and nutrients to reach the soil for the plants. So it ensures that the bed remains really easy to care for, because pulling out the weeds usually takes the most time, especially if you haven't done anything for a while and the weeds have started to grow just through the bed to proliferate.
First lay the fleece and then plant the selected plants in the desired locations. Finally everything is covered with gravel. It is important that the fleece is no longer visible at the end. Then the stone bed in the front garden can look really natural and beautiful.
Select suitable plants for gravel beds
Choose drought-tolerant and flowering plant species that can grow well in existing conditions such as light and soil. Then you won't have to water the plants every day, even on hot summer days, but you can skip a few days. Of course, this is also very practical if you travel often and don't want to ask someone to look after your garden every time.
The plants in the garden center have labels that show the amount of sunlight required. Plants that grow well in full sun need at least six hours of direct sunlight daily and those that grow in shade or partial shade require four to six hours of direct sunlight daily. Which of the two options is best for you depends, of course, on the location of your front garden.
Plant small plants at the front
The height that the plant reaches is also shown on the labels. Tall plants should be planted on the edge of the stone bed, for example on the house or garden fence. If the stone bed is designed in the middle of the front garden and surrounded by lawn, then tall plants are planned in the center of the bed. Low-growing plants should be planted at the front of the bed. In this way, the bed not only looks tidier, but all the plants can also be shown to advantage. If you plant the low plants at the back or in the middle, they would be hidden by the taller ones. And why spend money on flowers and plants if you can't see them at the end? Tall plants would also take away the sun from the low ones and possibly provide too much shade.
Separate different types of chippings from each other
Gravel and grit are available in different colors, different grain sizes and sizes. Beautiful patterns were created on the ground in this rock garden using grit in white, red and gray. In principle, a wide variety of patterns and motifs can be created with any color. You can also create interesting and contrasting structures with the help of different stone sizes.
To ensure that the different types of gravel are clearly separated from each other, it is best to use plastic shaped edges. They are very flexible, can be easily attached to the ground and offer countless design options. Bed borders are also suitable. In a Japanese rock garden you can also use it to form the yin-yang figure with grit in black and white.
Without colorful accents
In modern rock gardens, neutral colors are often used - evergreen conifers and stones in two colors. There are no colorful accents such as decorations and flowering plants to be seen here, but the composition of gravel in white and gray and the large natural stones also looks very decorative in itself. The evergreen conifers look beautiful and fresh all year round. This means you get a garden design that you will enjoy even in winter and that looks well-maintained and lively every year.
use different types of rock
If this monochromatic look isn't your thing, then choose a few flowering shrubs that will add some nice pops of color to the rock garden. Wilted, fallen flowers can leave marks on the stones if they are not removed in time. That's why cleaning is very important. To reduce maintenance even further, you can simply select non-flowering shrub species with interesting leaf coloring. The red dwarf barberry looks particularly good in a rock garden. There are also many other suitable shrubs you can consider. We have some of themherecompiled for you.
clay pots embedded in the ground
This isn't a real low-maintenance bed, but the idea is very interesting. The clay pots with tulips were only embedded a little over halfway into the ground and the gravel was spread around them. However, weeds can be seen under the layer of gravel, which makes the garden appear unkempt. In this way, the annual plants can be easily replaced without having to remove and redistribute the gravel. So if you also want to have annual plants in your garden that you can replace with new ones every year, this is a practical solution. You decide for yourself whether you would also like to have to pull out weeds.
Natural stone paving as a bed border
When designing your front garden, you can also create beautiful color contrasts by using materials in different colors. Here, for example, the mulch and the bed border have pleasant warm colors, while the gray river stones and the evergreen conifers appear rather cool. The interplay of these contrasting colors is extremely attractive and therefore a nice idea.
white grit and green lawn
White gravel is very beautiful and looks great in combination with the green lawn and plants. But keep in mind that it can get dirty quickly. For example, due to dust and other air pollution, the stones quickly turn gray, while moss can also cover them and turn them green.
This stone bed in the front garden is very interesting, with the lawn and gravel areas intersecting interestingly, creating an original interplay. The gravel bed doesn't necessarily have to be separated from the lawn to be nice to look at. You can design the gravel area with plants, and a shrub can also be planted here and there in the lawn. This comes into its own particularly well with red leaves.
Hide floor lights in the gravel
Garden lighting is an important part of garden design, but some people don't like it when it's too noticeable during the day. Recessed ground lights can be hidden in the lawn, on paths and in flower beds and really highlight garden sculptures or plants with interesting leaf shapes. They are inconspicuous during the day, but in the dark they can totally change the look of your garden and create a beautiful atmosphere. This also allows you to enjoy your garden in the evening or at night, while providing your guests with practical lighting as they head home.
