Flowerbed of stones - design options for DIY construction (85 photo ideas)

Owners of country houses and cottages are not limited to arranging a garden or a kitchen garden on their site. Many seek to decorate the space with original flower beds. One of the most popular ways to decorate the landscape is to create designer structures made of stone of various breeds.

You can make them yourself, without the involvement of professional and often expensive specialists. And how best to solve this problem, we will consider in this article.

Summary of the article:

What can be used for arrangement?

Before deciding how to make a flowerbed in a summer cottage, it is necessary to choose the most suitable raw material for this. Natural stone will help you to design an original element that will look very natural on your site, will fit into any landscape style. It is environmentally friendly, durable, resistant to external environmental influences.

In this case, the material itself can be very diverse:

Limestone. It has a wide palette of shades - from yellowish and cream to gray, blue and even pink. To exclude the appearance of cracks due to porosity, all cavities are covered with soil or soil cover plants are planted, as well as mosses.

Sandstone - allows you to decorate in the most bizarre way, but is very susceptible to destruction.

Volcanic tuff is used in the arrangement of artificial terraces or for design elements located near ponds. It is durable, but handled fairly easily, has a wide color gamut.

Slate, having a layered structure, is widely used in the design of raised beds. Differs in original gloss, durability, water tightness, plasticity.

Durable and temperature resistant granite. Quartzite is distinguished by its original luster and tints in sunlight. High-strength basalt will strengthen the slopes on the site and decorate artificial terraces.

Neat pebbles will help you create a beautiful fence, which can subsequently be decorated in a variety of ways. But for strength, the elements must be cemented together.

A composition will fit well into the landscape, to create which a decorative stone was used for original and beautiful flower beds. It is made from a mixture of stone chips and acrylic. Additionally, polyester resins must be added. Such material successfully simulates sandstone, slate and even granite. And the designs themselves will be strong and durable.

Types of design solutions

If you plan to make your allotment original, then you need to responsibly approach the design of the landscape.

It is important not only to choose high-quality material, but also to plan the desired composition, to combine several flower beds into a whole ensemble.

The usual composition, designed using this material, has a clear form and border. In the manufacture of used border, which is laid out with cobblestones in one or more layers.

Gabions are distinguished by the use of a two-layer metal mesh as a frame. The composition of the desired fraction is poured into it. Due to this, the design receives additional stability, as well as improved drainage.

The decoration of the flowerbed with natural or artificial stones will be very interesting if you opt for rockeries.To do this, you need to pick up cobblestones belonging to the same breed, but having a different size.

In the design, limestone or slate will look good. Large cobblestones should be deepened, and fine-grained ones should be scattered over the area. In the ground, you can plant a stunted shrub or plants that spread.

For alpine hills, mountain plants with strong roots should be planted. The material used is cobblestones laid out in the form of a multi-stage structure. But the raised flower garden will decorate the allotment with poor soil. Creating a multi-tiered structure significantly saves space.

A qualitative transformation of the territory in the garden can be seen in the photo of a flowerbed of stones laid out in the form of a terrace. The material used is quartz, basalt or granite, which have increased strength. And limestone with sandstone will help form a mountain view.

If you take the elements of a rounded shape and place them pointwise in area, you get a beautiful Japanese garden. They are covered with moss, and between them you can plant a variety of plants. Pebbles should be carefully laid out on the ground, and a small fence should be installed around the perimeter.

How to arrange the space?

A harmonious landscape can be formed on the territory of a country house only with the correct placement of flower beds of different types. In this case, you must follow the instructions for their arrangement.

Site preparation

A properly designed flower garden should not create an excessive load on the landscape. It is necessary to ensure free passage through the territory, and obstacles for irrigation are not needed.

The shape of the flowerbed in the country is determined by the place of its installation. For example, compositions having a rectangular or oval shape will be relevant only in open areas where they can be viewed from all sides. But semicircular curtains can be installed near the walls.

So, gabion is placed along walls or a fence, and an arabesque or alpine hill will fit perfectly into the landscape of an open lawn with a slight difference in height. The raised flowerbed looks perfect in the center of the plot, and the rockery - on a flat, clearly visible surface.

Arrangement technology

First you need to carefully clear the place of arrangement of the flower garden, remove all debris, grass, and even the territory. For rectangular structures, marking is necessary with pegs with a stretched twine. If you plan to install wide borders, then along the rope mark the internal and external borders.

The marking of round or oval flower beds is as follows. A twine is drawn between two pegs, which has a length equal to the radius of the future structure. One of the pins is placed in the center, and the second peg begins to outline a given circle.

Once you have outlined the contours, you need to start laying the material. They are placed around the perimeter with a recess. For greater masonry strength, the material lies in several layers. If you do not plan to create a powerful or large-scale composition, then the usual laying out of equal-sized smooth cobblestones on top of each other is suitable.

For stability, you can fasten the elements with cement mortar or glue. This is necessary if the object is large.

To get very beautiful flower beds, you need to pick plants. It should also take into account the features of the applied decorative elements. The larger the boulders used, the higher and larger the planted plants can be.

The construction of a flower garden with a border

For the construction of the fence, it is necessary to dig a trench along the perimeter for the foundation. Its depth can be 250-300 mm. The specific dimensions of the recess depend on the size of the boulders that will fit into it.

At the bottom of the trench should be laid roofing felt or polyethylene. A sand pillow falls asleep on top. Although for the design of small particles, this stage can be skipped.

The roofing material is poured with a layer of cement, and on top of it, sand is laid on a third of the ditch and well compacted. After the concrete base has hardened, large blocks are first placed on the sand layer, and then smaller ones. The spaces between them are filled with a mixture of concrete.

Additives from crushed stone and gravel will give greater structural strength. If you leave a few holes at the lower level, improve ventilation in the structure.

The ground part of the frame should have a slight slope inward. For its arrangement, smooth cobblestones are used. In order not to spoil the appearance of the masonry, the cracks are sealed with mortar from the inside. From the surface it is necessary to remove the top layer of the earth, lay the drainage and fill it with fertile soil. Planting is carried out in 2-3 days, after subsidence.

A brick border is made in a similar way. The moat is first covered with sand, then with a layer of rubble or gravel. Bricks are laid on top, but do not fasten them with a solution, allowing excess water to freely go beyond.

The use of stone elements in the flower garden

The designer’s task is to make a flower bed made of stones, equipped with his own hands, as suitable as possible for the growth of flowers and other plants. That is why much attention is paid to drainage.

The site needs to be deepened by 500 mm. In a mini-pit, sand, gravel of small fraction and crushed stone should be covered with layers. So excess moisture will be easily removed. If you plan to put pots or flowerpots with plants, then drill a drainage hole in the bottom.

For arrangement on the slope of the rock garden, it is necessary to remove the top layer of soil, and then perform a ramming. After laying the drainage, it must be covered with fertile soil. Stones installed in autumn will sag under the influence of rainwater, and plants can be planted in the formed spaces with the ground.

Creating round or square gabions requires the purchase of a special mesh. But masters can successfully equip more complex structures.

The construction of raised structures

A high flower garden requires the construction of a powerful retaining wall of stone with a height of 500-1000 mm. The design of the flowerbed will be more original if you build it in a multi-tiered type. Walls must be bound together with cement mortar.

At the first stage, you need to mark the area of the site, taking into account the width of the retaining wall. Then a groove 250-300 mm deep is dug. At its bottom, finely gravel gravel should be covered with a layer of 100-150 mm.

Here you can add stone fragments or rubbish of building origin. Reinforcing bars or mesh are laid on top, and then concrete is poured.

Then, large cobblestones begin to be laid at the first level on the site. They must be fastened with a solution. Left vertical slots provide the best outflow of water. After you raise the wall to the desired height, you need to start laying several levels of smooth and attractive blocks.

Remember, to equip the outer surface of the aerial part of the retaining wall, it is advisable to turn large stones outward with a more attractive side.

As a result of the work you will get a frame with a cavity inside.At its bottom should be laid drainage of gravel up to 70 mm thick and sand up to 50 mm. Then the nutrient soil is poured, watered.

From above, additional soil is added and leveling is carried out. It will turn out an attractive and original composition that can decorate any country house.