Now let's finish up the different garden styles, and then we'll spend the next few weeks actually working with stone. Next is the gravel garden.
Obviously this garden centers on using gravel as the main feature. The idea behind this is to rip out any and all of the labor-intensive areas, either grass or flowers, and replace them with gravel. Sounds boring, huh. Well, to make it a bit more interesting, consider the gravel as a ground cover (it will be very difficult to remove once you put it down, so plan carefully). You can create berms with it to break up the monotony and you can place plants in it to break it up as well. Also, sink a few rocks into it (I mean bigger rocks) to look like a natural outcropping. Plants that seem to do well in gravel are rock roses, lavenders, iris, and a lot of ornamental herbs. If you have a smaller area, break it up into even smaller areas by using brick and forming four-foot squares. Oh yeah, also some low growing evergreen shrubs look good in it. So the next thing to figure out is why you would want to use just plain old gravel. Well, there are different colors of gravel made by the local sand and gravel companies. I won't list them all for fear that I may miss one, so look in the local phone book and go see what they have. This garden style will be an extremely low-maintenance garden and one that should be considered when you have water problems.
Finally, the checkerboard garden--a style that combines different stone and brick and is also a low-maintenance garden. Take a piece of paper and draw a checkerboard pattern on it. Now, in each of the different squares, put down flagstone in one, grass in the next, and finally some brick. Repeat with grass and stone in the following squares. You can border each square with brick or edging stones, or just remember that the grass squares, as they join up against the stone and brick squares, will also act as an edging. Set the stone and brick an inch or two below the grass areas. Now the problem inherent with this style is when you go to mow the grass. Make certain that the mower blades are high enough to miss the rocks when you are cutting, and also plan on very tight joints between the stone and the brick. This will obviously make it a whole lot easier to clean up when it is time to rake out the grass. Or you can be like me, basically trying to do it the easy way, and get yourself a blower and blow out the grass clippings.
Now, each of these garden styles can be adapted to cover large or small areas--whichever one you decide to use is up to you. But keep in mind what I have been talking about ever since we started on gardens, and that is theme. What do you want to accomplish, in looks and in function? How about maintenance? Do you have the time to spend on upkeep in your chosen design, or do you need to keep it fairly low-key? Cost is always an important factor. Does your design allow you to develop it gradually, or is it a one-time shot? And how about the plants? Go see your local nursery, talk to them, and let them recommend specific plants for your garden.
Now what do we offer when it comes time to build any of these gardens? Cascade Block sells all types of stone, flagstone, brick, and block. We also sell the sand and gravel mix along with the bagged cement so that you can pour your own concrete, as well as bagged concrete mix. There are a couple different types of border block, too.
Next week, we'll cover stone and the different styles, types and applications; also how you can work stone, cut, shape, and size it. And we'll build some walls, dry-stacked and mortared.
So until then, see ya'!
Originally published in the Daily Courier July 27, 2000