Framing your garden with rocks

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Your garden is just like a picture that you would hang on the wall. It's meant to cover a bare, boring wall, and bring pleasure to the eye. And just like a picture, it deserves a frame. I use rocks.

But just like framing a picture, you have to remember that it's the garden that's the star, not the frame. So the frame should provide a transition from the bare wall (or in this case the concrete patio) without drawing too much attention to itself.

Of course, hoses lying around, like wires left hanging on the wall with scotch tape, is the last thing you want to do, so start with a good cleanup. If your garden requires hoses to be left lying around, then it's time to rethink how you water. The system here is hidden underground, and set to a simple battery-operated timer. It takes a fair amount of effort to get into place, but once it's in, it's so much easier than lugging a heavy hose around you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

Anyway, back to the garden frame. I was fortunate to have some beautiful flagstones given to me many years ago which I muscled into place (they're heavy!). From there, I used pointy rocks to discourage as much as possible people from stepping into the garden. After that I use river rocks, then it's just gravel, and mulch. Some of the pointy rocks can be fairly decorative, but otherwise I find rocks that just kinda blend into the background. By the way, if it looks like a step, it's an invitation for someone to walk there - be very clear where you want people to walk.

Most people won't even notice the frame, and that's what you want. But like any good supporting cast, they make the stars look even better!

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