Ordinary natural materials will help transform your garden plot. Stones will be an excellent decoration for the garden; you can implement interesting ideas yourself. This will require a minimum of costs.
Photos of stones for the dacha will help you choose an interesting composition. Such elements will help hide the imperfections of the relief. An amazing combination of cold stone and green plants will create a cozy relaxation corner in the garden.
To create a harmonious design, wild and processed, small and large stones are suitable. Boulders, cobblestones, and pebbles will complement the composition. Natural materials can be collected independently, which will allow you to realize your idea at minimal cost.
The task can be done by any person; it does not require purchasing special tools and materials. You can use available tools and gardening tools.
If there are too many stones in the area, you can help some of them become covered with green moss. This method is suitable for creating a harmonious design.
Pebbles of various shapes go well with different building materials. In nature, there are many shades of these objects, so you can always choose the most suitable option for compositions.
Garden stones are easy to care for and are not afraid of temperature changes. They are also used in processed form.
You can create a rocky garden on your site, even in a small area. It will help divide the territory into certain zones and hide unsightly elements. Simple stones will add color and become a wonderful garden decor. They will fit harmoniously into the surrounding space.
Ideas for using stone in the garden
The material can be used to create various compositions. It will suit any decor style. Stones can be an excellent addition, an interesting accent. They can be used to decorate individual corners of the site or be present throughout the entire territory.
Landscape designers use processed stones in their projects. To do this, objects are coated with luminescent compounds to achieve glow in the dark. Entire paintings made of colored gravel may appear in the garden.
In order for the stone to become covered with moss, it is treated with a special substance. When paving garden paths, protective compounds are used. Interesting garden ideas will help you create your own unique landscape.
Materials used to make artificial boulders
Boulder stones for landscape design have an impressive weight and are not cheap. Since the price consists of the cost of the stone itself, loading, transportation and unloading. In addition, due to the large mass, it is not always possible to move the boulder to the desired place. In this case, they are replaced with artificial ones. For imitation of natural stone made of fiberglass and polystone, you will also have to pay a considerable amount. However, if you wish and have time, it is not at all difficult to create beauty with your own hands.
Papier-mâché and cardboard
The material can be anything: papier-mâché, cardboard, brown packaging paper, polyurethane foam, fine mesh, household waste (bags and plastic bottles), polystyrene foam.
There is probably no such person who would not make crafts from papier-mâché during labor lessons at school. Therefore, the technique is familiar and simple. Take a form, for example a cardboard box, and paste it with strips of newspaper using flour paste. Due to its light weight, this craft can be any size. The finished product is left to dry completely, after which it is covered with aerosol paints.
Instead of cardboard, you can use thick packaging paper. In addition, with its help it is easier to set the desired shape for the future boulder.
Styrofoam
This material is even easier to work with. There is no need to waste time drying each layer of paper.
From a piece of foam plastic, using a construction or electric knife, any shape is cut out, which is limited only by your imagination. After which it is covered with a solution of 3-4 layers, prepared from one part cement and three parts sand. For better elasticity, add a little liquid soap to it. Each subsequent layer is applied after the previous one has completely dried.
With polyurethane foam the result will be the same.
Fine mesh
You can collect construction waste: pieces of plaster, broken bricks, etc., and wrap them with metal mesh. Then, as in the previous case, layer by layer is covered with concrete mortar.
Household waste
Every home accumulates a large number of plastic bags and plastic bottles, which can be disposed of in an unusual way. To do this, just take a garbage bag the size of the future boulder, put the trash in it and give it the desired shape. Then secure everything with wire, which is best wound in different planes. Now you will need old and unnecessary bed linen, shirts, etc. They should be ripped open in advance, freed from seams and torn into small pieces. Next, a liquid cement mortar is prepared (from cement and water), into which the prepared fabric is dipped and applied to the mold, according to the papier-mâché principle, in several layers.
To make homemade boulders look realistic, various techniques are used.
Using a spatula, create dips and folds when the solution has not yet set.
To obtain a more porous structure, replace 1 part sand with peat moss (sphagnum) and make a solution as follows: 2 parts sand, part cement and part moss.
To create a rough surface, use an abrasive sponge or wire brush.
To give it a wrinkled appearance, pass over the stone with a crumpled plastic bag.
To avoid cracking, finished products are dried in the shade. After complete drying, coat with three layers of water-based concrete primer. Then acrylic exterior paint is applied with a sponge. If desired, the products are varnished.
With a creative approach to the process, you can create fantastically beautiful boulders for your garden with your own hands, which in texture will look like natural ones.
Dry streams
The Japanese invented this design method. It is necessary to initially think over the shape of the channel and dig a recess. Then the surface is leveled, after which the stones are laid out.
Decorative stones are well fixed so that they do not move from their place with one touch. The bottom of the stream is filled with pebbles; you can use crushed stone, which is pre-painted in the desired color.
The winding bed of a stone stream will help to veil the imperfections of the terrain. It will deepen the space and visually delimit it into functional zones. The source of the stream is usually made at a slight elevation. The depth of the channel is half the width.
After the stream has been dug, the weeds should be removed and the soil compacted. Special material is placed at the bottom of the riverbed to protect it from grass germination. They start filling the stream with large stones, and then fill it with gravel and supplement it with elements of different sizes.
Decorative paths
By filling the paths with pebbles, you can decorate the space with minimal effort. You can use plain or colored pebbles. Sometimes crushed stone is selected according to shape, size, texture, and color.
The paths can be used for their intended purpose or can be used only for decorative stripes. A dry stream is decorated in a similar way.
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Alpine slide
Having arranged a flower garden with an abundance of stones and plants under the windows, you can admire them for a long time. Flowers can be placed directly in containers, or the composition can be supplemented with an artificial pond. An alpine hill can be complemented with plants of contrasting colors; the monochrome version looks no less attractive.
If the size of the dacha plot allows, then create a stream along which flowers are planted. The use of stones in landscape design allows you to achieve amazing results.
A rock garden is usually made away from outbuildings. It is located in a well-lit place near the house. Amazing landscape compositions imitate mountain landscapes.
painting
The easiest way is to paint garden stones. Children can be involved. The result will be fun and bright. Use of abstraction, graphics or other motifs: the choice is individual.
Some people imitate rock paintings, others paint real pictures. Don't be afraid to create. In any case, the results of independent work are pleasing.
Drawings on stones
Elements for garden decor can be painted in any color. An excellent solution would be to apply drawings to natural materials. You can depict animals, berries, mushrooms. Multi-colored stones in the garden look interesting and can be used to decorate a children's playground.
Oval elements with a smooth surface are suitable for applying drawings. You should choose durable paints that will not lose their brightness over time.
Pebbles will become a bright decoration that will add warmth and charm to the garden. They are decorated with fancy patterns, beautiful drawings, or simply painted in a certain color. After finishing the work, the dried objects are opened with varnish.
Sculptural compositions
It is possible to turn stones in a garden plot into real works of art. It is enough to use your imagination and make an effort. Working with dense material is hard and painstaking, but the work brings magnificent results.
In recent years, gabions have become popular. To complete the ensemble you will need a frame that you can actually make yourself.Stone garden
The central part of the composition is usually a large natural object. Small pebbles are used for backfilling.
Care should be taken to balance the horizontal and vertical lines in the garden. Stones symbolize natural strength and beauty, and a small number of plants will only emphasize their shape.
A rock garden differs from an alpine hill in that it has a flat area. Decorative effects in such a garden are achieved mainly due to the beauty of the stone. The space between the main elements is filled with gravel, which will shade them.
The installation of stones must be carried out according to a pre-planned plan so that changes to the project do not have to be made. A composition created with your own hands will complement the design of the site and make it unique.
Small architectural forms
Various small architectural forms can be made from simple stones. Each specimen has a unique natural relief and texture.
You can refine the characteristics with the help of tools and imagination. It is not at all necessary to try to make an ornate or lacy outline. Even a simple stone with natural relief can surprise you with its beauty.- Do-it-yourself mailbox - a detailed description of how and what to make a beautiful and convenient mailbox for letters (80 photos and videos)
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Decorating an area with stones is not difficult at all. Some people have to buy expensive material for this, while others have the chance to make full use of the gifts of nature.
There is no need to turn the rockiness of the site into a tragedy. You just need to beat the situation to your advantage.
Photo of stones at the dacha
Where to buy
If you have a clear idea of what kind of composition you will create, there is only one question left to solve: where to get the stone?
Without extra funds, you can get this material absolutely free. For example, carefully inspect nearby areas for quarries or dry reservoirs. Perhaps stones of suitable shape and size will be found on the territory of demolished buildings or construction sites.
In old buildings, rubble stone of local origin was often used
If there are abandoned summer cottages or estates in your neighborhood, it is better not to take stones from there yourself. After all, if you don’t see the owners of nearby “haciendas”, this does not mean that they don’t exist, or that they will approve of your idea. Try to find contacts and resolve the issue legally.
Finally, if playing as a ranger is not your thing, you can simply buy a stone for the garden in the required quantity. Typically, the sale of such material is carried out by stone processing enterprises, or companies offering all kinds of products for arranging the local area. Note that the cost is affordable, and it depends on the type of stone (granite, shell rock) and its size (pebbles, boulders).
To determine how much stone will be needed to arrange your territory, take into account a simple calculation: 2-3 tons of stone per 1 cubic meter. m. of personal territory.
In order for the stone composition to look harmonious, boulders and cobblestones must be commensurate with the scale of the structure
The most beautiful and noticeable stones must be positioned so that they are clearly visible in the composition
