Designing Landscapes & Gardens with Stone

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Water features are one of the most desirable elements you can incorporate into your landscape, but they’re typically designed for water sourced from a well or municipal water facility. Ironically, your Colorado landscape may not be equipped for the “real” water that needs to find egress during and after storms, or during the melt, keeping your foundation, walkways, and outdoor common areas free of pooling water.

Interested in Designing Landscapes & Gardens With Stone? Create a Dry Creek Bed

A dry creek bed is a functional and artistic way to use beautiful stones and rocks – from your own property or elsewhere – to design drainage ditches that look interesting year-round and serve a purpose when needed.

Use the following tips to begin planning your design, then get in touch with Lifescape to integrate the engineering touches and materials to ensure your creek bed drains water effectively.

  1. Study water. The more you understand how water moves, the better chance your creek bed will function, so it diverts water intentionally while providing substantial visual interest via the stones and landscaping you use. It’s a great excuse to get out there on a crisp fall day and hike to your favorite river or stream for observation. Do take notes!
  2. Think about shape and size. Water rarely moves in a straight line in nature. Rather, it meanders as it follows the lay of the land. Begin thinking about how your land is shaped and how it slopes. This will give you an idea of how your creek bed should be laid out. Then consider how much water runs through the area via your roof gutters, potential flood scenarios, during a hard rain, etc., to determine the best width and depth. Use at least a 2:1 ratio.
  3. Start collecting your rocks. Rocks are the staple ingredient and there are many types to choose from. Typically, the bottom of your bed will use smaller river stones and the edges will use larger rocks and perhaps even a boulder or two. You can dot the middle with attractive larger stones of your choice, always taking water flow into consideration.

For more information on designing your Colorado landscape, contact Lifescape Colorado for details.