If you want an attractive arrangement in your yard or garden but you don’t want to spend an awful lot of money, try landscaping with rocks. You do not have to make significant purchases when working with this material because you most likely have a whole collection of them on your property already.

My husband and I decided to try landscaping with rocks because we kept uncovering stones while we were gardening, walking and playing on the property. The stones come in an array of shapes and sizes that help to create depth and interest in even the most simply arrangements.

The first thing we did was arrange a circle of stones around three large trees that are located in the front yard. Landscaping with rocks around each of the trees defined the space. Each tree has its own collection of landscape stones surrounding it. The circles are arranged a little over a foot from the bottom of each tree.

We laid plastic over the grass and weeds growing awkwardly around the trees and used the landscape stones to weigh it down. We put red mulch over the plastic to create a tailored look. The result of landscaping with rocks in this case was a high-priced look for very little money. The only investment we made was the cheap plastic and the mulch.

Next, we decided to use the flat rock found on our property for a walkway. This type of landscaping with rocks is quite different from the tree design because it is quite time-consuming especially because we have clay earth in the area we were covering. This made the area flood with water when it rained.

We dug a shallow ditch and hammered a spike into various sections of the clay. This helps the thick earth absorb more water into the ground. The shallow ditch was filled with gravel and the gravel was covered with sand. The flat landscape stones were then carefully arranged and embedded into the sand.

After several passes and some mortar to secure the stones, the walkway was complete. This time-consuming task was well worth the time and effort. The only cost was the gravel, sand and mortar along with the many hours of digging and placement.

Landscaping with rocks is a relatively cheap alternative to buying supplies from your local home improvement center. The colors of the stones are beautiful and the various tones and textures are a visual delight. We are quite proud of our accomplishment and we are happy that we used natural materials found in our own yard.

Technorati Tags: landscaping, gardening

Over the years we have completed many projects in our yard. We live in the country so there are no street lights to light our yard at night. We decided we would look at landscaping lights to place along the sidewalk.

At the home improvement center we found that there are a wide variety of landscaping lights to choose from. Some of the landscaping lights were sold in sets and others were sold individually.

There was a wide variety of solar powered landscaping lights. We liked this option because we would not have to run cords and wires. We have dogs that like to chase chipmunks and squirrels and we were concerned that they would get tangled in wires and electrical cords.

The solar landscaping lights have a battery that is charged by sun light. The lights come on automatically at dusk and stay lit for several hours. We liked the idea that the lighting would not cost additional money on our electric bill.

Each solar light has its own battery cell, so they do not have to be placed a certain distance from each other. With the electrical lights you can only space them as far apart as the length of the cord.

We purchased eight solar lights that were shaped like small coach lights. They were made of copper and attached to stakes that you push into the ground. We placed them around the front and side of our home amongst the shrubs.

In placing them you need to be sure that the cell that gathers the solar light is facing north. We had also purchased two larger solar lights that hang on shepherd hooks. We placed one of these at the beginning of the front walk way and one by the back walkway.

The landscaping lights are very attractive. They turn on and off automatically and not only provide for safety, but add beauty to the area as well. The lights that are low to the ground around the bushes do not seem to attract bugs.

The lights that are placed on the shepherd hooks are far enough away from the doors that the bugs they attract do not cause an issue for getting in and out of the house. We like the landscaping lights so much that we are going to add a few spot lights to the backyard ornamental trees.

The spot lights are placed about a foot from the base of the tree and are positioned to shine up the tree. This will add light and safety to the backyard as well.

Technorati Tags: landscape, landscaping lights