Landscaping With Natural Stone

When you are planning your next outdoor landscaping project, don’t forget to include stone.  Natural or manufactured stone adds a classic, beautiful appearance to any landscape feature.  Many different types of stone are available to fit every landscaping need.

Landscaping stone varies widely throughout the country, but it can be roughly grouped into categories based on its finish and use.  Pavers are natural flat stone, bricks, cobblestones, or manufactured cement or other hard blocks that are used to create driveways, walkways, patios, and other hard, flat outdoor surfaces.

Flagstones are natural flat stones that are harvested from a quarry.  Flagstones are sometimes split to get the desired thickness.  Flagstones can be used as pavers, but their surface is a little more uneven than manufactured pavers.  Also flagstones are normally irregularly shaped but can be worked into more or less regular shapes if needed for your project.  Flagstones are also used in many different landscape features including walls, benches, fireplaces, and ponds.

Fieldstones are natural stones harvested from the topsoil.  They are generally more or less flat, but they not as flat and are much more irregularly shaped than flagstones.  Fieldstone is used a wide variety of outdoor hardscapes including fireplaces, ponds, outdoor grills, benches, walls, and waterfalls.

Boulders are larger, irregularly shape, naturally occurring stones that are harvested like fieldstones.  They have recently become more popular as the trend toward natural landscaping has continued to grow.  Boulders make for a visually dramatic addition to many landscape designs such as waterfalls, ponds, and to add texture and character to flowerbeds and other areas.

No matter what your next landscaping project entails, you will be able to find a stone landscaping product to meet your needs.

Installing Pavers

Brick, natural stone, and concrete pavers are very popular for creating attractive, durable outdoor surfaces such as patios, walkways and driveways.  Pavers come in wide range of colors, styles and sizes and they make a wonderful addition to any landscape.

Another reason pavers are so popular is because they are easy to install.  Installation requires some planning, getting your hands dirty, and some moderately heavy lifting, but most do it yourselfers can install pavers with great results.

Pavers can be installed on bare ground, on gravel, or on concrete, but the most common way for the do it yourselfer is to install them on a bed of sand. The first step is to plan your project by preparing a sketch of the design.  This will help visualize how the final project will look and help in ordering materials.

Next, measure the area and mark around the edges.  The area will need to be excavated deep enough to allow for the height of the pavers and an additional 2 inches for the sand base.  Excavate the area so that the top of the pavers will be slightly higher than the surrounding are to prevent water from pooling on top of your project.

Fill the excavated area with a two inch layer of sand, then compact the sand with a plate compacter from your local equipment rental shop.  Now you are ready to start laying your pavers.  Start from one corner and work your way out toward the other side.  Set the pavers by rapping them gently with a wooden mallet or compacting them lightly with the plate compactor.

Fill in the gaps between the pavers with sand by spreading sand over the top of your project and sweeping the sand into the cracks and enjoy your new patio or walkway.

Types of Pavers

Paver is a generic term for hard blocks used to create flat outdoor surfaces such as walkways, patios, and driveways.   Pavers come in a wide variety of types and styles and are very popular with do-it-yourselfers because they are easy to work with, very forgiving, and can be used to create attractive outdoor surfaces in almost any size or style imaginable.  If you don’t want to install them yourself, your local landscaping company will be happy to help.

Although almost any hard material can be used as a paver, the most commonly used pavers are natural stone, brick, and concrete.  Natural stone pavers are available in an unlimited variety and sizes.  They make very beautiful, rustic patios and walkways.  Almost any type of natural stone is available as stone pavers including granite, marble, travertine, limestone, bluestone, and many others.

Brick pavers are made from a mixture of cement, sand and other materials and then fired in a kiln to create a durable, hard product in uniform sizes.  Brick pavers are made in various colors with reddish and tan colors being most common.  Brick pavers have excellent wear characteristics and an almost indefinite lifespan.

Concrete pavers are made in an endless variety of shapes, colors and sizes.  They are also very long lasting and offer a more finished surface.  Because they are manufactured, they can be made more uniform than other types of pavers resulting in a tighter fit between pavers.  Some concrete pavers are made to interlock with each other and are very easy to install.

Pavers of all types are available at your local landscape supply company.