I have a lot of boulders in my yard. This is definitely the right place for your question. My way of using them is only one of many possibilities. I have to get a new picture of the one with my house number engraved on it. That was just done a few weeks ago.

Here's a link to various picutes of my yard. They all have rocks except the shade garden pictures.

Here is a link that might be useful: Various Yard Pictures

Here's a picture from the Landscape Design Forum. This isn't my house, but I really like the pictures posted by Dominogold. It's a completely different use of boulders.

Here is a link that might be useful: From the Landscape Design Forum

Large boulders can look very strange when just plunked into the yard. I'd suggest digging a hole and burying at least 1/3 of the stone. And try to use a type of stone that comes from near your house, so it has a chance of looking natural.

I second creatrix's suggestions.

I had my excavator plant this humongous pink granite boulder. It was left over from digging our foundation. I feed all kinds of wildlife off of my boulder. It's right in front of our dining room bay window. Everyone enjoys seeing what comes to eat off it. Turkeys, bambi, tree rats, of course many birds, and the occassional black bear. It's better than tv!

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sounds like your hubby is being insistent on having boulders maybe just go with it. i agree with the above about burying them. also look out for what i call pea soup where the rocks are dotted they always look best when placed in clusters of odd numbers if you do have to go with the rocks put as much imagination as you can into it i.e. think about how they will work with the plants you are wanting to use small ground covers in front maybe some grasses in between the rocks and shrubs behind

Just drop by and saw this post and though I would add my two cent.
Great photo's of wild life too. Anyways here is what we have done with our rocks. Hope this helps, This is in our front yard.
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and close up during the summer
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and this is on the side under trees by the road.
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Hubby enjoyed making these beds for me and I have enjoy planting them.
Tamara

Maybe you could use Moss rock to line the edges, then the boulders can be placed presentably...

We used a lot of boulders in our landscape project last year. We developed a outdoor classroom showing fire resistant techniques people could use at home. By fire resistant I mean wildfire resistant concepts, I live and work in a high fire prone area so we wanted to educate people about how they could have attractive properties without taking everything flammable away. You can see how we used rocks and boulders in our design at our web page.

http://www.odf.state.or.us/AREAS/eastern/walkerrange/

Click on the In The Garden link and then scroll down to click on the photo gallery. Click on different areas within the drawing for pictures pertaining to that area. Haven't updated with this years pictures yet but you will be able to see the rock.
Let me know what you think.

Wow, that's looking really good! When you have all the after pictures taken, please post pictures in it's own thread so that people get a chance to see them.

If you are still considering using moss rock or landscape boulders, you should take a look at the following link. http://www.pioneerstonemt.com/index.html It has pictures of river rock, moss rock, and boulders that you might consider using.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pioneer Stone

YES YES YES...I SAY IT'S A GO! ROCKS IS TIMMLESS NOT TO MENTION NATURAL..AND WITH THE RIGHT FLOWERS,PERENIALS,GRASS'S,AND SOME SEASONAL PLANTS WORK REALLY WELL NO MATTER WHAT THE HOUSE LOOKS LIKE..I TOO AM PLANING ON A PROJECT!KEEP US POSTED WHAT YOU DID..OR PLANS

I have a dilema. There are ugly and non-practical steps going down to my front yard. In between the steps are rows of gorgeous boulders. I have planted perenials along the front of the boulders and up above. When we remove the steps it will leave an area that is 10 to 12 ft wide, 4 ft high and 4 ft deep. I could move some of the boulders or plant tall perenials, bushes, I was thinking Rose of Sharon. It's very sunny so ponds or water doesn't seem to work. Any ideas?

Here are some rocks in part of my garden. Proper arrangement is the key.
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Juggler,
I don't know if you're still around, but that Garden Walk is excellent.
Plus, your Gallery was incredibly fast, and easy to navigate.

I'm envious of the great stones that you folks have!
And, Botann, you have a beautiful, mature property!
Nice Cryptomeria.

Josh

Yep, I'm still here. Thanks for the compliments!

botann, I am swooning. Thank you!

In my area boulders are quite expensive at the garden centers. Can any of you turn me onto a less costly source? Thank you.

All my rocks and boulders came from local farm fields. I live in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. Around here there are a lot of glacial rocks and boulders. I guess it would stink to be a farmer here and have to pick all the rocks out of the fields, but it works well for me. They're all piled up somewhere, and the farmers are generally pretty glad to be rid of them. Small rocks that are light enough to be rolled up a board into the back of my Jeep are free. Boulders are the price of moving by someone with heavy equipment.

Check out the hypertufa forum...I've been making stones and rocks all summer...cheap and fun hobby.

hi everyone im new to this site. im trying to sell large landscape rocks. im going to add my craigslist ad below

Here is a link that might be useful: here my link for my ad

I am landscaping our newly built house and have never done this from ground 0 before :). Considering using boulders along sidewalk leading to our steps. Been looking for the perfect low evergreen flowering plants to line concrete entryway, but options like Ice Dance Sedge, Liriope and Lily of the Nile seem like they'd blend in too much with lawn on other side...?
Would it be goofy to put boulders/flowers along either side of our sidewalk entry - runs from the street sidewalk to our front porch stairs? We are building a stacking block raised planting area on either side of the stairway (in front of the porch above it). I've already put a single rock "garden spot" at the corner where you turn off the public sidewalk onto our entry way leading to the house which I could use as a staring point.
I was thinking to bury part of the boulders as suggested above and plant things like sedum, heuchera, penstemon, liriope and spring blooming bulbs around them. Maybe just rock, one groundcover and bulbs? We're Oregon zone 8, the area is east facing, slightly sloped and along a 5 or 6 feet long concrete walkway. Soil has lots of clay...thinking to ammend with compost 1/2 and 1/2 wherever I plant things.
Supposed to dig and plant this weekend, but a bit nervous to actually do it for fear I'll kill these beautiful plants I've researched for hours about and dug up the yard for. :) Not to mention the boulders are so heavy I don't want to haul them all over the yard and not be able to walk tomorrow! ;) They are various "1-2 man" rocks. What do you think? (pasting in a photo from my computer didn't work- can you tell this is my first post? ;)

Mossyard,

I can't help you too much with plant choices because I live in a much different zone. I also have sand rather than clay, so I don't have experience with clay. However, I have read warnings to not dig holes in clay and fill them with some other sort of dirt or compost because it forms a bowl that collects water when it rains. I think compost is the best thing to add to clay, but you should work it into the whole bed rather then in individual planting holes.

Here's a link from another forum's FAQ that explains how to post pictures. This forum does not have a photo gallery, so you'll have to use the first set of instructions.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Post Pictures

Oh no! Does anyone know how deep do I need to dig before I start mixing the clay soil with compost? Maybe I should rent a digging machine or something? This is all the landscaping around 2 buildings. There is nothing in the ground here except an old cherry tree. I am planting shrubs, trees, ground covers, perennial flowers, etc.

You should ask that question in one of the other forums. You could ask in the soil forum, the perennial forum, or the tree forum, for example. This forum doesn't get much traffic, and it's about rocks. So your rock question was good here, but the clay question should be somewhere else. I wish I could help you more, but I have no experience with clay. I've read that adding compost is the best thing you can do and adding sand is the worst.

Well, if anyone has rock landscaping "dos and don'ts" for me, I'm all ears. I'll take my clay question to another forum. Thanks for helping me out though, jugglerguy. I'm really glad you said something- now I'm looking into it!

Not to hijack this thread but Jugglerguy! WOW man! I wish I had your eye and skill. Your landscaping and especially the stone walkway is superb. Major props. Do you have a website with tips or instructions?

The first thing I did this past spring when I bought my first home was to install a water feature and I found out quickly how much stone can cost.

I've been asking around for land that isn't in national parks that would have creeks to gather stones out of.. I was also thinking about those old remnants of long gone houses with their stone foundations you can come across out in the woods. Reclaimed stone or brick would make a cool patio/walkway .. no luck yet. I haven't thought about farmers. How do you find/approach them about the stone? Do you offer them a little cash? You really need to get a truck.

Hi fingersoup,

I'm not sure I have that much skill. I just play around until it looks right. The paths are much, much easier to make than the walls. The only really instructional thing I've done is here on Gardenweb. I started building a fire pit and patio and posted my progress here. The link is below. It's more like, "watch me bumble my way through this project" than instructional, but you might learn something from my experience.

As for farmers, I just knock on the door and ask. I usually offer to pay and they look at me like I'm crazy and tell me they're glad to be rid of them. The one exception was this summer. The farmer tried to make them sound much more valuable than they actually are and was a bit of a pain about it. We came to an agreement and I payed him. I always buy a gift certificate to a restaurant or something when rocks are offered for free.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fire pit and patio construction.

I am so happy to find this site. Last year we had some foundation work done to our mid-century modern home in Illinois; the front of the house is now just dirt. I am not a life long gardener, as we�ve only been in this house for six years. However, I have greatly enjoyed finding creative ways to add color and garden around the entire house. I was advised to consult a landscape designer about my wish to use one or two boulders in the front, which previously had mostly ground cover. My wish, however, is to learn how use boulders as part of a design and to make the front what I have created instead of someone else�s design. However, I need some dialogue with those who have gone before me about some particulars.

First of all, I have found two boulders that are very interesting at a landscaping site, although after reading the blog, I may contact a few farmers in the area and see what is available before I purchase these. My biggest question is: how does one decide how much space accommodates what size boulder and how many boulders? Then, how do I determine where to place them relative to the house and relative to one another? All sides of both boulders I�ve found are interesting and coordinate with the color of some stone we already have on part of the front? Third, if I am going to plant a small tree or bush, does that go in before or after the boulder? If I could find good solutions to these questions, I feel confident about the kinds of plants I want. My goal is to have an eye catcher of color and interest from the street and a design which feeds the soul upon entering the house.

Thank you for considering my questions; any ideas for assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Continuallearner. I don't know exactly what to tell you about how big the boulders should be or where to place them. I do know that it's important to use boulders big enough or they won't look good. You should place them so they look natural, which usually means that you should bury part of the rock. I just bury enough so that you don't see the round part of the bottom. In other words, it should be largest at the bottom, not slanting inward. Rocks should be lying down rather than standing up. A natural rock would have been around for thousands or millions of years and would have settled into the most stable position.

As for whether to plant trees and shrubs before or after, you should definitely plant after. there will probably be a tractor or loader involved in placing the rock. Trees and shrubs will get just be in the way.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures of rocks being placed