Stone Garden Walls | Stone Choices

Creating Beautiful Stone Garden Walls

Stone garden walls can be made from various types of stone. You must decide on the size and thickness of the stones you would like to build your landscape stone wall out of. The cut of the stone is another factor. Some stones have a natural shape, such as fieldstone. Fieldstone is found in fields, woods, and forests. They generally have a natural look. They are slightly rounded and come in three different sizes. There are also many different colorations to stone. If you go to a stone yard, you will be amazed, and it can be confusing.

Sizes and Shapes

Stone comes in various widths, or heights, ranging from one inch up to one or more feet. The stone you select should be in scale with the height of the wall. 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 stone, 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.

Some stones have more of a cut front with sharp edges. Others are softer and more rounded. In addition, garden stone walls can be made out of large stones with a flat faces. Sometimes these are very precise and fit together in an exact way.

Unless you want an actual boulder wall, a range of stone sizes looks pretty in a stone garden wall. 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.

Colors

Look at the color running though the stones. Some stones are mostly one color, while others have many colors combined. Stone can be gray, tan, or brown. They can be any combination of those colors and can even have some purple running through. Think about what will be near the wall and what other paving or garden features will be seen with it.

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 stone house that the stone of the garden wall blends with it.

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 stone retaining walls.

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