Few things complement the greenery of your Westchester County, NY landscape like natural stone. Natural stone's contrasting textures and colors add interest while blending with the environment. Another major advantage of natural stone is its long term durability. What’s more, stones require little or no maintenance, particularly when used in naturalistic features.
The use of natural stone in landscaping can vary as much as the stones themselves. Here are some ideas for using natural stone for transforming your landscape.
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Pebbles
Pebbles add great-looking visual and textural interest to your landscape, bringing a variety of colors and visual depth. Pebbles can be used to fill an empty area and give it character, as well as bring a natural feel to the space.
Pebbles are available in a variety of sizes, colors and shapes, and thus complement any type of landscape design. Pebbles provide good, even cover and stunning color. Whether you have an eroding pathway, unkempt lawn, or uneven ground coverage, pebbles can be a suitable replacement or supplement. For an instant facelift, pebbles can be placed over a weed mat to cover and limit further weed growth. 20-30mm with 50-70mm depth of coverage works best for foot traffic.
Pebble walkways can further be enhanced with a natural stone border, ensuring the pebbles are kept within the confines of a certain area while providing additional character and color possibilities. Raw or unattended walkways can be filled in and defined by pebbles. Pebbles can also be incorporated into stepping stone arrangements, highlighting and contrasting the original stones.
A Rock Centerpiece
A large, unusually-shaped rock creates an eye-catching focal point. Large boulders can provide a break in the visual monotony of large yards, while a tidy, low-maintenance centerpiece works best in small yards. A rock centerpiece can also add visual interest to monotonous border areas, such as hedges or repetitive plant beds.
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Pond Border
Large rocks give a backyard pond a fairytale look. The right kind of stone will help disguise unappealing black pond liners and deliver contrast to dark pond water. To achieve the most natural effect, the stones used should be similar in size but irregular in shape and color.
Dry Stream Bed or Bridge
If you’re looking to incorporate natural features into your yard, a dry stream bed that mimics a seasonal creek can be created using river stones. This feature can also be used to contribute to drainage in marshy areas of your lawn or as a cover for underground drainage systems. If instead you’d prefer to turn this feature into a running stream water feature, natural stone can be used to create a small, convenient footbridge.
Retaining Walls
Retaining walls prevent erosion on a hillside, as well as serve other functional and aesthetic purposes. The wall should be carefully designed by a professional. Knowledge of the soil type is a must before building the wall. For wet soil in an area that experiences hard frost, a strong foundation is absolutely crucial. The wall itself can consist of boulders or neatly lain natural stone blocks, or be veneered in the natural stone of your choice to contribute a warm, countryside look.