Avoiding common mistakes with big rocks in your garden

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A big rock can make a dramatic statement in your garden, or it can just look ridiculous.

I've been working on developing this area of the garden, by extending the path and cutting away the plants that had made it narrow, and I've been moving a big rock around. This morning is the fourth time I've moved it, and it reminds me of common mistakes that I've seen with big rocks.

The worst mistake that I've seen is a big rock that looks like a tombstone. That is, sitting upright as if someone were buried underneath it. Big rocks in nature don't stand up like grave markers, they respond to gravity, and lie down. The rock should rest in peace, not look as if it were marking someone who was doing that.

And that brings me to the next mistake, not digging it in enough, and just plopping it on the surface, where it will look as if it were going to roll down the hill at any moment. Avalanche! So dig a nice deep hole for it to sit in, and look at it afterwards to see as if it looks solid. I like to stand back and look at it, and also take photos, like this one, to evaluate.  Luckily, I can move this rock, mostly by putting my weight on it and rolling it. It's too heavy for me to pick up, I'm no Scottish strongman!


At this point I'm still not convinced that it looks right, as the lip in the front seems to be sticking out too much. I follow the same rule that I learned in graphic design: if it looks wrong, it is wrong. Luckily, the ground is soft so I can roll it back (again!), and dig a bit more. The effect that you want is to make it look as if it were rising out of the ground, and surround it with smaller rocks. Gotta get more smaller rocks!

So there ya go. Get a big rock into place and it can be wonderful, but watch out for your lower back!

Update about an hour later: Dug in a little deeper, that's better. Now it just needs to be surrounded with river rocks.


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