Landscaping rocks are rocks which are used as landscaping features. Many gardeners like to utilize landscaping rocks to create visual interest in their gardens, and these rocks come in a range of shapes, sizes, colors, and styles. There are also a great deal of ways to use rocks in landscaping, depending on the style of landscaping involved and the personal taste of the landscaper.
Sometimes, landscaping rocks may be rocks which were naturally present in the landscaped area at the beginning of the project. This can include large rocks and outcroppings which cannot logistically be moved along with rocks which are turned up while the area is prepared for landscaping. Some gardeners like to use the rocks they remove from the soil for a more holistic form of landscaping, believing that keeping the rocks on the property and in the garden is a mark of respect to the local environment.
People can also actively pursue landscaping rocks. Many gardening stores sell landscaping rocks which vary from carefully prepared, cut, and polished rocks to raw rocks. Some gardeners collect rocks along their travels for use in their landscaping, as for instance in someone who likes to have a rock from every place he or she has visited in the garden. Gardeners also go on rock-finding expeditions to places like rivers to find landscaping rocks for their projects.
Landscaping rocks can be used to create low walls and barriers, geometric patterns in the garden, garden paths, and creative accents. In some Zen gardens, landscaping rocks are the garden, with rocks being carefully chosen and placed on a bed of sand or pebbles. Landscaping rocks may line flower beds to create a sharp demarcation, or they may be used to create sculptural garden accents, such as towers of stacked rocks or colorful displays of rock in garden beds.
Any number of rock types can be used in landscaping, with the choice of rock resting in the hands of the gardener. Many gardeners pay attention to things like size, shape, texture and color when selecting landscaping rocks, looking for rocks which complement and enhance their plants and the surrounding environment.
The use of rocks in the garden is not merely an aesthetic choice. Landscaping rocks can help make a garden more water-efficient, by wicking away water and sequestering it in the soil, rather than allowing it to evaporate. They can also keep weeds down by acting as a barrier, and they prevent neighborhood animals from using the garden as a bathroom, because digging around landscaping rocks is unpleasant.