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A rock garden brings a natural, low-maintenance landscape feature that is designed to please all year round. Whether you are looking to put together small decorative beds or a large sloping development, the first step to a successful result is estimating the right quantity of stone to deliver enough coverage, structure and balance between your soil, rocks and any vegetation you have on your land.
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Landscape Barn recommends the following stone options for rock garden designs:
Before you order any materials, take a few minutes to plan your layout and pick where your stones and plants will go. Be sure to consider how water drains through the area because good drainage is crucial for a healthy rock garden.
To start, measure the length and width of what you will be filling with rock. For any weird shaped areas, divide the area into manageable shapes like triangles, rectangles, circles, etc. and calculate each shape separately. Add all the results back together for your total square footage, and round up by a few points because rock gardens always end up needing a bit more to layer and shape properly.
For standard rock gardens:
Know that a deeper base layer will help to suppress weeds and overall just improves the structure over time.
Now that you measured your garden area and selected the depth of the bed, it is time to determine exactly how much stone you are going to need.
To compute total volume of stone required in cubic yards:
Length (ft) × Width (ft) × Depth (in ÷ 12) ÷ 27 = cubic yards
Average decorative stone is about 1.3 to 1.5 tons per cubic yard, depending on the density and moisture content. Use cubic yards × 1.4 for a good safe approximation.
Place the Try Our Stone & Gravel Calculator section from this blog, also add this section to this blog too
Remember that these are rough estimates and we typically want to add a few points at the end of our calculation for rises, slopes or any other large open areas we want to cover fully.
You want to start by clearing any grass in the area and installing a high quality landscape fabric to cut back the weed growth and keep stone away from soil as your bed gets older. Once that is done, you can add a 3-4-inch layer of crushed stone or gravel to help allow drainage and stability before you start placing your decorative stones.
Work from largest to smallest. Your boulder and statements stones are probably going to want to go first so they can help provide some structure for your medium and smaller stones to build off of. Any gaps at the end can be filled in with decorative gravel so don’t worry about perfectly filling the space.
Again, even if you've calculated carefully it is a good idea to leave room for extra stone!
Stone settles over time and natural gaps develop as material settles. Purchasing around 10% more will allow you to make adjustments on the fly and fill in any low areas as your bed begins to settle. It is always better to have a little extra than to be short halfway through a job!
Like we mentioned above, without a firm base or barrier stones will settle into the ground much more quickly and weeds will start popping up, so always remember to start with a firm, well draining base.
The cornerstone of a rock garden is proper drainage! If water is allowed to pool around any roots or rocks, it easily leads to erosion and plant stress, so if necessary grade the garden to have water drain slowly away from your beds.
Contrary to popular belief, it requires a lot of forethought to construct a proper rock garden, and using the correct materials is the foundation for building something that is going to last a long time. As you need to throughout your project, refer to the guidelines above for help calculating your stone requirements, designing your layout and eventually choosing the materials for your project.
A well planned rock garden is not there to just help with erosion control and improve drainage, it serves to create a calming, natural focal point in your yard, and whether you are building a small garden bed or an awesome, dramatic hillside feature, the right stone and preparation will bring your vision to life. Start your project today with Landscape Barn, your trusted source for quality stone and expert advice.
Take the guesswork out of your next project! Use our Project Calculator to quickly estimate the materials you need for your landscaping plans. Get started here with our Project Calculator.
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rEAD MOREWe’re here to help you bring your outdoor vision to life—reach out with any questions or to start your next project.
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