Stone Garden Walls | Stone ChoicesStone garden walls are my favorite type, whether it be a retaining wall or one that is free standing. They look good with so many types of houses and comlement many surrounding paving materials. However, if you were to go to a stone yard, at first you would be totally confused and overwhelmed. There are just so many kind, colors, sizes and so on. So how do you go about choosing the actual stone...or do you just leave it up to your landscaper? I hope not! You must decide on the color, shape and size of the stones. Depending on where you live, different types of stones are available since they are typically quarried nearby or found in various places. Some stones have a natural shape, such as fieldstone. Fieldstone is found in fields, woods, and forests. They have a very natural look. They are slightly rounded and typically come in three different sizes. Sold in pallets, bundles or individually, you will see that they are grouped by color. Sizes and Shapes of Stone Garden WallsStone comes in various sizes and shapes. The stone you select should be in scale with the height of the wall.
These are rather flat and approximately one to two inches thick. Often they are bluestone and if there are nearby steps, look great with bluestone treads. These stones are typically dry laid and stacked. Narrow stones, such as one inch thick, work well with low walls. I would advise not using these narrow stones with walls that are over eighteen inches high. When using narrow stones, horizontal lines are created. The higher the wall, the more lines you have. They almost never look straight, but on low walls they are not obvious.
These stones are irregular in shape and are actually like small landscape boulders. These can be dry laid, dry laid with mortar behind them, or set in concrete. The dry laid method provides the most natural look.
In addition, garden stone walls can be made out of large stones with a flat faces. These stones are mortared to concrete block walls. Sometimes the they fit together very tighly like a jigsaw puzzle; at other times they have a looser look with larger mortared joints.
These stones are used to create a stone garden wall where the stones are cut to a precise geometric shape. Then as with the natural shaped flat stones, they are applied to a concrete block wall. This type of wall has a more structured look. Unless you want an actual boulder wall, a range of stone sizes looks the best. Various sized stones make for an interesting look and a very natural one also. To give some additional excitement to the wall, you can add in some large boulders to the wall stone. This is one of my favorite looks. Stone ColorsLook at the color running though the stones. Some stones are mostly one color, while others have many colors combined. For example, if you have a bluestone walkway, you might consider stone that is in the grays. You might also like stone that is gray with some tan colors in it. If you are using tumbled pavers, these pavers are usually somewhat multicolored. Therefore, stone that picks up one of the colors would look right. You might also find a stone that has the same color blend as the pavers. Take a look at the color and material on your house. Does the wall stone blend well with it? Be careful if you have a wall stone colors are right. Tops of stone garden walls, or the wall caps, can be made of the same stone. You can have some plants at the top that drape over the wall slightly to soften it. However, perhaps your wall is a seat wall. In this case, you might consider using a bluestone or limestone cap. This provides a flat surface to sit on and an area to rest food or drinks. Landscape stone walls can be lovely architectural elements in the landscape. However, building a stone garden wall is a craft. Not only will your stone selection make a difference, but also the workmanship. Walls can be either freestanding or be retaining walls. Other Pages of Interest
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