To design a holiday plot without much expense, prudent owners use improvised materials. Some are lucky: in the territory of the hacienda there are stones of different sizes. How to realize the existing wealth? Use the natural potential to make the garden special, unique, memorable.
- lock;
- Japanese minimalism (a garden of stones);
- rural;
- classicism;
- antique.
The chosen style dictates the use of a certain material. Wild stone differs in degree of strength (greater has granite), dimensionality, color scale, ease of processing. Artificial material is what the customer wants it to be. Special additives increase strength, expand the color palette, create a structure, increase the dirt and moisture repellent properties, regulate weight. In addition, concrete stones can be made by hand using molds for garden paths.
Natural stone is a gift from nature
The variety of natural (natural) stone is so great that it is not difficult to find a suitable option that takes into account the required characteristics.
| Material | Granite | Basalt | Sandstone | slate | Limestone | Marble | Tuf |
| Characterization | Solid, gray-red tones | Resistant to adverse weather conditions, dark from gray to black-green | High porosity, shades of gray-yellow | Layered, sharp | Gray, changes color depending on impurities | Solid, fine-grained, wide color spectrum | Durable, resistant to adverse weather conditions, porous, yellow-pink shades |
| Application possibilities | Paving, rubble stone, rubble | Paving stone, external cladding, sculpture material, gravel | Facing material, crushed stone | External finish, material for the roof of small architectural forms | Material для скульптурных форм, щебень | Facing, sculptural forms, mosaic panels | Wall constructions of small architectural forms, facing |
Artificial stone: infinite variability
The use of natural stone as the main material for creating a beautiful landscape around a country house has been practiced for a very long time. However, modern technologies offer a worthy alternative to natural material - artificial stone. He is not inferior to his colleague in terms of qualitative characteristics, in addition, having undoubted advantages:
- The widest color palette;
- Extended size range;
- Significant weight loss;
- The possibility of creating elements of complex configuration (top of the pillars, cast columns, balusters, decorative insets);
- The ability to imitate any texture.
The artificial stone includes types of bricks, clinker, products based on concrete, synthetic options using natural stone crumbs. The main thing when choosing an artificial stone is confidence in observance of all technological conditions during its production.
Read also: Decorative well for a dacha made by own hands 
Size matters
The simplest dimensional classification of natural stone is an option where all the variety is divided into categories:
- Cob is a stone formation of large volume with sharp edges;
- Boulder - a stone of large volume of rounded shape;
- Cobblestone - rounded formation of medium size (up to 30 cm);
- Crushed stone - the result of crushing large stones, has sharp edges, 5-15 cm;
- Pebbles - flat-rounded stones up to 10 cm;
- Crumb is the smallest fraction of a crushed natural stone.
In the landscape design of your own home, you can use any size. A huge boulder will become the focus of the Alpine hill, butovy stone - the foundation of the laying of the basement floor, the cobblestones will go to erect the fence. Rounded middle stones will be framed flower beds, retaining walls on the terrace area. The flattened pebbles, put on an edge, forming spiral patterns, will decorate garden paths. The crushed stone of the shallowest fraction will ensure the mulching of groups of evergreens.
The color of the stone crumb should harmoniously complement the green shades of coniferous - gray-graphite tones successfully shade blue needles, red-brown - traditional greens.
Granite: применение в ландшафтном дизайне
Strength, resistance to weathering, soft colors, accessibility - these are the main advantages of this material. The disadvantages are weight and complexity of processing. Examples of the use of granite:
- Graniteная глыба – отличная вертикаль для обустройства уголка отдыха с шезлонгами. В солнечные дни камень достаточно сильно нагревается, поэтому, закрыв остальные стороны живой изгородью, владельцы загородного участка получат зону с уникальным микроклиматом, где можно загорать даже ранней весной.
- Graniteная брусчатка – практически вечный материал. Садовая дорожка из брусчатки (небольшого булыжника) будет служить даже правнукам, а ее укладка сравнима по простоте с игрой в детские кубики.
- Graniteный щебень или отсев – служит заполнением пространства между отдельными камнями в рокариях, альпийских горках, подчеркивая «каменистость» рукотворной композиции.
Sandstone — легкий, красивый, ровный
Sandstone позволяет получить плоские плиты нужной толщины с рваными краями, широко используется для создания садовых дорожек, отделки цоколя дома, им обрамляют контуры приподнятых цветочных клумб, создавая нужную высоту.
If the sandstone slabs are not fastened with mortar, then the interior of the flowerbed is dense with geotextile to prevent leaching of fertile soil through the slits during irrigation.
When filling the bed of the garden path, geometrically correct sandstone slabs allow to leave minimal gaps. It is optimal as a material for the construction of retaining walls: an even surface facilitates masonry. The flat faces can be so well adjusted to each other that sometimes the "dry masonry" method is used, excluding binding mixtures. Plates of reduced thickness are successfully suited for decorating vertical surfaces, facing small architectural forms.
Limestone (ракушечник): изучаем плюсы
Aerial, porous, but fairly strong stone with the inclusion of biological organisms remains suitable for the construction of wall structures of light structures (arbors, belvedere, arches, pseudo-antique ruins), facing of solid structures. To increase the service life, it is recommended to treat it with water-repellent compounds.
See also: Landscape design of a summer cottage 5 acres 
The color of limestone adds warmth to the atmosphere of country life. Rakushechnik goes to create garden furniture (benches, beds), erecting barrier walls, separating the garden from the main space. Such a fence looks like a picture from a glossy garden magazine and has 2 big pluses:
- the zone of garden plants is warmed up better, the walls are protected from winds;
- with natural weathering, the rock enriches the earth with calcium compounds, which are transferred to the "garden tenants".
If there is a boulder in the garden
A huge stone in the suburban area - an irresistible problem or a successful opportunity to make the garden space unique? Everything depends on the approach to the solution of the problem. If you can not eliminate what is stopping you, make a stone with a design accent.
Lumps of considerable height can become the central stones in the construction of alpine hills, less high, stretched horizontally - the base of rockaria. The space between them is filled with cobblestones, the three-dimensional horizontal planes are scattered with rubble or pebbles. A stand-alone expressive stone can play the role of modern conceptual sculpture, acquired for "big money".
In order not to get into an unpleasant situation, when you completed the marking, you began to dig a pit for the foundation, and suddenly it turned out that in one of its corners there is a huge boulder, make a point trial drilling. After making sure that there are no obstacles, proceed to land works.
We decorate the country with a stone
Having created a landscape design project, having determined the objects to be embodied in stone, it is necessary to decide what material is better to use.
| Fake diamond | Natural stone | |
| Applications | External facing of buildings, fences, the device of garden paths, framing of beds, elements of a decor (sculptures, flowerpots, stones-scenery) | External facing of buildings, construction of LFA, creation of garden paths, erection of fences, retaining walls, change of landscape (hills, rockeries, ponds), decor elements |
Fake diamond (бетон с добавлением пластификаторов) можно применять для собственноручного создания садовых арт-объектов. В качестве форм используются крупнолистные растения (ревень, лопух), а в результате получаются оригинальные поилки для птиц, элементы обрамления цветочных клумб. Мастера вырезают из него скульптуры, имитируя сплетение древесных ветвей, воспроизводя фактуру древесной коры.
Stone for stairs and tracks: highlights
Garden paths, ladders, descents are objects of landscape design that are under the greatest strain. The materials for their creation are subject to increased strength requirements. With a quality base, the front surface can be either a natural or an artificial sized stone. The use of flagstones is complicated by the need for selection of fragments, laying out cobblestone takes a lot of time, arranging pebble mosaics requires artistic taste, great patience. The use of artificial analogues puts work on the construction of a footpath on the stream: all the blocks are ideally suited to each other, the amount of waste is reduced to zero, the cover options are many. Concrete stones with a wood texture create a complete illusion of the path from the wooden planks. Concrete paving can be ordered in the main color of the house to maintain the unity of the building and the surrounding space.
Read also: Decor for the garden with their own hands +75 photo 
Natural harmony - a union of water and stone
Owners of ancient stone fountains can only be envied. Today these design objects are more often made of molded concrete. But they can be done independently using different clichés, arrange the elements in a cascade and, having provided the installation of light sources, get a glowing waterfall. The creation of a stepped fountain made of wild stone is also easily practicable: a flagstone is used, along which water flows. But the device of the pond is expedient only with the use of natural stone.
The pond is a natural reservoir, even if it is man-made, so an artificial analogue here is of little relevance. Mirror of the pond is framed by a stone, resistant to moisture: it can be both plate and rounded forms. The main thing is to make the stone edging as natural as possible. The upper step of the pond, the bio-plateau where the plants are planted, is filled with a large pebble, small cobblestone, in addition to the ground, so that the base is firmly supported by the roots.
Stone flower beds: frame the flower beds according to the style of the site
When designing flower beds, the style of a country house serves as a model. Accordingly, the size, shape and material that goes to the fences of the flower beds are selected:
- Classical style involves the creation of geometric flower beds (round, square, rectangular). For their edging, granite curbs or analogues of artificial stone, emphasizing clear lines, will suit.
- The rural style of the villa will be supported by lush flower beds of smooth forms, their contours will be marked by low walls raised from the ground level from cobblestones, flagstones, artificial bricks "under the old days".
- Antique cloak in the garden will add a fencing for the flower bed, made of blocks of shell rock with a weathered surface.
Small, yes udal: rubble, pebbles, crumbs
The majority of summer residents want to rest on suburban areas, spending a minimum of time on garden work. Therefore, a modern garden dictates special requirements for the arrangement of space: do once, do not dig, do not weed. To solve a difficult problem, a crushed stone is capable. When planning plant compositions, it is necessary to provide for their mulching with stone crumbs. For this purpose, crushed stone with a fraction on the lower limit is optimal. Using different colors of sprinkling, you can enhance the visual effect - the horizontal surface of the flower beds itself becomes an element of garden decor. Backfilling with small pebbles between the main boulders of rockaria will allow the creeping plants (sedum, young, saxifrage) to grow freely, and laying small pebbles under the plants in voluminous vases will eliminate the appearance of weeds. An interesting garden element can become a "dry stream" - a pebbly shingle with a forged bridge will add a touch of romanticism to the country life.
What you should not forget about
Выбор материла, осуществление собственных фантазий – это прерогатива хозяина загородного участка. Главное при использовании камня в ландшафтном дизайне – его уместность, соответствие избранному архитектурному стилю, а также размерам владений. Marbleный Геракл на 6 сотках с деревянным домиком вызовет недоумение, миниатюрная альпийская горка будет странно смотреться среди корабельных сосен. Зато качественно выполненный объект, соответствующий общей концепции, станет радовать глаз каждый день.
