Decorative Stones for Flower Beds

Chinese Mountain Rocks

• Chinese gardens often feature eroded and twisted rocks that are set like features in the landscape. These rocks are not just for stone gardens; they can be used in flower gardens to add some mythological resonance to the rose bushes and daylilies. The Chinese believe that a top-heavy stone, carved out by the actions of water or natural chemicals over ages, is a symbol of the mountains that link heaven and earth. Highly prized rocks come from the Suzhou area, from Lake Tai, which has mineral beds of eroded limestone that gleams whitely against blossom colors and green leaves. Set a beautiful, tall stone on a flat base to rise out of a bed of wildflowers. Let it be the focal point of a planting of grasses. Or sink it in a shallow water garden, surrounded by floating lotuses, with a mix of ferns and tall, flowering yucca lining the bank.

Artificial Rocks and Faux Rock Planters

• If the real thing is too heavy to move or too hard to find—or if you like to rearrange your flower garden from time to time---get fake. Artificial rocks look like they were tossed up by grinding tectonic plates, even though they may be hollow and recently liberated from a factory. The boulders are made from concrete shaped over a frame, polyethylene composites, resin castings and fiberglass. They can be quite heavy—good for areas where there is vigorous flower growth or a lot of wind that might otherwise shift them. But, solid or hollow, they are cheaper by far than real boulders, come in shapes and sizes to suit a flower patch or provide seating, and mimic fine-grained gray or black basalt, glittering grays or pink granites, and tan, yellow, brown or red sandstone. Some faux boulders are made with a depression in their center for planting more flowers to cascade over the rock and integrate it completely with the landscape.

Carved in Stone

• Find the message in your garden stone---or put one there. A stone carver can chisel a word or a phrase to set a mood or spark a contemplation. You can find smaller quartz or other smooth and pretty rocks with "peace," "dream" or "imagine" incised in them to set in a border or near a special flower. But larger, rougher stones and boulders can be markers for quotes, rune carvings, a line of a favorite poem. Check with your garden store to find a local stone carver. A headstone supplier will use stone carvers for monuments, and you may be able to commission one to add an inscription to your favorite boulder. Let wanderers in the garden come upon it by surprise or feature it under a climbing rose arbor as a focal point.