An investment of next to nothing can really improve your garden. This can be accomplished by the
use of gravel on your garden walkways in lieu of bark or a retaining wall of stone instead of wood
or metal. These all will contribute to your rock garden. There are many types of rock that can be
used for this purpose and because of the necessity to keep this article short,I will only discuss
a few. There are flat rocks that come in the form of slate and shale which can be put into use as
pavers and or divide and set off areas to display distinctive things in your garden like statues
or other garden decor.

The odd shaped rocks are good for retaining walls with a little planning and placement and there
are the smooth rounded rocks found along creek beds that can be put to good use in rock garden
border settings. When it comes to paths they are quite often unplanned and just the result of
need.If you make use of rocks in paths or trails you really do succeed in stopping your guests
from widening your path and killing vegetation. This also adds to the beauty of the trail or path.
Its best to use rounded rocks for your borders and flat rocks or gravel for the actual path. The
creating of a path from nothing should make you consider the use of a path that just wonders
instead of a straight path. The time involved in a winding path really adds an attractiveness to
your rock garden.

If there is a large amount of rock on your property why not use it to build walls or fences. This
was done centuries ago in New England and you can still see some of the results even today. You
will not require mortar if your rocks are large by wedging smaller stones to act as mortar. The
use of smaller rocks will require some masonry work and either you will need to learn some
masonry techniques or hire someone who has these skills. Retaining walls are excellent if your
building a garden next to a flat yard patio and the garden requires some height for soil depth.
This can be done with some rounded or flat rocks or just a flat 2-3 inch thick block available at
your garden shop.

The beauty of a rock patio and terrace far out strips the use of wood in building a ground deck or
terrace. These are not only fireproof but require little or no maintenance like the need to paint
every other year or so. Now you can deal with those rocks already in your garden and enhance and
create a natural rock garden. These rocks can be used as borders for your flower rocks either
rounded or flat. You can take large rocks like ones you may stand on and throw 4 or five inches of
soil over the top and plant some annual plants that don't require deep soil to survive. You can
also purchase plants that will "cling" to the surface without the benefit of soil. There are many
ways to create a true rock garden go out and buy some books to educate yourself on the joy of rock gardening.