If you pay close attention, you will notice that practically everything in our physical surroundings is formed of minerals and stones. Or these elements are included in the parts that go into making different essential and decorative materials.
Ornamental stones are generally aesthetic rocks made up of minerals and gravels used for decorative purposes, unlike gemstones used in jewelry only.
The house we live in is made of concrete, a combination of crushed stone. The burnt limestone is what makes cement, and various rock particles make crushed stone. Wine glasses, window glass, and light bulbs are all composed of quartz, or more specifically, molten quartz sand.
WHERE CAN WE USE ORNAMENTAL STONES?
Well, where can we not! The options are limitless and infinite. With the emergence of interior décor and people adopting it more as a profession in recent times, the usage of ornamental stones has become relatively abundant. From being used as a floor covering, on walls, in pools, as water mirrors, to even as raw materials for making opulent and refined furniture, ornamental stones serve as allies of the décor.
In addition to being beautifully attractive, ornamental rocks provide a calming and comforting aura wherever they are placed. It might be challenging to create the ideal home’s landscape and architecture. Luckily, you may select from a wide range of landscaping materials that complement the style of your home.
Ornamental Stones are one such décor item that can be used for exterior decoration. Gravel and decorative stones work well as patio flooring, pathways, planting beds, and textured ornaments.
An ornamental stone adds beauty to your garden and also benefits the environment. They grow in various colors, shapes and textures, so you can choose the one that suits your space.
TYPES OF ORNAMENTAL STONES TO USE IN YOUR GARDEN
Ornamental Stones have changed the way we decorate our gardens. A piece of nature can add significant value to your garden and make an incredible masterpiece.
The appropriate selection of ornamental stones can definitely benefit you if you’re seeking to improve how your garden looks. It might be challenging to pick the ideal stone for your landscaping plan. Let’s have a look at some of the different types of ornamental stones that are being used for various embellishments:
AGGREGATES
Aggregates are the ideal decorative stones if you wish to add style and individuality to your front yard, flower garden or backyard layout.
Aggregates, which can range from little ornamental pea gravel to big boulders, can help give your landscape uniqueness and texture while assisting with moisture control and water drainage.
PEA GRAVEL
A collection of stones, each about the size of a pea, is known as pea shingle or gravel. Pea shingle may be used for practical uses, including constructing garden walkways and can also be utilized within ornamental bedding or features.
Its coloration is best compared to that of a rocky beach, blending browns, whites, and greys. It is organically created, with each rock having rounded, smooth surfaces. Depending on your demands, pea shingles may be purchased in either a 20mm or a 10mm diameter.
These little stones are ideal for carpeting the ground. They are tiny enough to fit into cracks between wider flagstone slates and light enough to put in flowerbeds.
PEBBLES
Pebbles are smooth and round stones created when water gently erodes a rock’s sharp edges. As a result, they complement a backyard water fountain wonderfully.
Due to their rounded surface, pebbles are considered safe to walk on barefoot. Pebbles also make lovely and aesthetic garden walkways. To stop weeds from growing underneath, you may mix stones with landscaping materials like a woven textile to give warmth and comfort to your garden space.
On top of the soil in a potted plant, you may place these pebble stones. This not only enhances the plant’s appearance but also helps your plants grow healthily by preventing the soil from drying up or eroding.
RIVER ROCKS
River rocks are ideal if you want something a little bigger but yet the same shiny appearance that pea gravel provides.
They are quite helpful in addition to being incredibly adaptable. Make a dry creek bed out of river rocks, use them to surround flowerbeds, or build a retaining wall by piling them on top of one another.
River rocks are ideal for adding a charmingly earthy element of nature to your home’s landscape.
LAVA ROCKS
It’s true what they say about lava rock. It originates from volcanic domes and is quite versatile. It is available in various sizes and hues, from coal black to vivid crimson. These Lava rocks can be a perfect addition to your garden as ornamental stones because they give a vibrant and beautiful look to your garden landscape.
These are particularly well-liked in dry areas with little rain since mulch or grass may be replaced with lava rock. Because of its lightweight and excellent ability to absorb heat and moisture will keep your plants flourishing throughout the summer.
BOULDERS
Looking for a stunning centerpiece to add to your landscaping plan? Try to add symmetry and texture to your flower beds; consider placing a big boulder there. Large rocks may give depth and drama to your house when used with accent lighting. Since water makes stones shine, smaller ones are fantastic accents for garden beds or water features.
FLAGSTONE
Flagstone landscaping is a terrific method to make a barefoot-friendly, contemporary yet rustic environment. Flagstone is available in various colors, thicknesses, and textures and may be specially cut to match your landscaping needs. It’s ideal for constructing stepping stones, a patio, and a pathway.
SANDSTONE
Sandstone has a sandy appearance, according to its name. Your home’s architecture can be much improved by the micro grains. Several hues are available as well. A popular kind of sandstone called bluestone may give your house crisp lines and stylish flair. This ornamental stone has no sharp edges or rough surfaces since it still has a smooth finish.
LIMESTONE
Limestone can be used for countless things, from sturdy walls to paths that seem natural. Its delicate finish contributes to the soft design and makes it comfortable to walk on. Limestone may be lightly sanded to a range of textures and is most frequently used on walks and patios. This gives your property a beautiful appearance. A distinctive Victorian garden will benefit from limestone’s excellent drainage.
SLATE CLIPPINGS
Durable, beautiful slate is used for everything from roofing to plates to flooring. Slate is supplied in small, flat chunks as ornamental stones, a popular option for modern gardening.
Slate chippings give surfaces a smooth, polished black look and can be utilized for both functional and decorative aspects. They work well in water, making it possible to use them in a fountain or pond.
WHITE GREY LIMESTONE GRAVEL
White gravel may fill a variety of demands that other goods, including pea shingle, can fill. White stone, as opposed to other alternatives, may make a landscape appear brighter by reflecting light around it. This can enable your garden’s shady parts to shine and help the plants reflect more light.
GOLDEN GRAVEL
In order to give the impression of being golden from a distance, “golden” ornamental gravel blends several hues of yellow, brown, and cream. Similar to white gravel, this may be utilized to add brightness to a driveway or shady area while also aesthetically enhancing a property. Additionally, it may be used in landscape elements like flowerbeds.
BENEFITS OF USING ORNAMENTAL STONES
There are many benefits of using ornamental stones in your garden. Adding garden stones and outdoor decorative stones can have many advantages. Some of the known benefits of using decorative stones are as follows:
FOR PATHWAYS
The first benefit is that they add beauty to your garden. Decorative stones are an excellent and reliable option for garden walkways since they are simple to install and produce a solid surface that won’t deteriorate over time, harm your landscape, or need a lot of upkeep.
DRIVEWAYS
You can use them to create a beautiful and aesthetic walkway or patio. The same decorative stones that are used to make paths may also be utilized to build a driveway. This will make a lovely entry to your home and mix in with the architecture of the building and the flowers in your front garden. Under your ornamental stones, you will need a base layer of crushed rocks, a sturdy border, and a plastic weed barrier.
FLOWER BED MULCHING
Mulch may be spread over a plant bed using smaller ornamental stones, such as pea shingles. Mulch works by absorbing the sun’s rays to keep moisture in and generate heat for plants.
There are various mulch solutions available that provide your soil with nutrients directly. Still, they won’t have the same visual advantages as a bed of ornamental stones.
OTHER USES OF ORNAMENTAL STONES:
- Another benefit is that they help prevent soil erosion, which means less water is used by irrigation systems.
- Natural stones can survive extreme heat, cold and frequent rainstorms.
- Your landscape design will be enhanced by using ornamental stones and plants.
- More enormous boulders, gravel, pebbles, rocks, and other materials can be combined to increase drainage effectiveness.
- They also help to maintain the water quality of your soil by preventing salt buildup.
- The best part about using ornamental stones in your garden is that they are renewable resources. They don’t need to be mined, which means less environmental impact.
- They not only add beauty to your space but also help improve the environment.
- They are eco-friendly and sustainable, which means that they can be used for many years without causing any harm to nature.
- They require very little care and attention.
- You can use them as a border between lawns and beds or as an edging for flower beds.
- Using ornamental rocks and gravel, you may create paths that limit foot traffic across lawns and more delicate plant beds.
THE BEST STONE FOR YOUR GARDEN IS…
As ornamental stones are created in a broad range of locations worldwide, gardeners from all over the world may benefit from using them in their gardens! There are many various sorts of rocks to pick from since there is such a wide range of gardeners and decorators that use them.
Many stones may be utilized as decorative additions to your flowerbeds and shrubs, ranging from cobblestones to round, smooth riverbed pebbles. For high-quality decorative stones, Praxis is a perfect place to visit.
The Netherlands’ top DIY brand is Praxis. Praxis provides the most incredible selection of items to fulfill the demands of DIY enthusiasts at all levels of competence. Over 35,000 DIY articles are available from Praxis to its millions of consumers.
PERFECT GARDEN PEBBLES: LARGE PEBBLES
Making garden walkways and controlling weeds are just a couple of the numerous uses for large stones in your garden. They provide proper drainage and won’t harm roots, making them ideal for remodeling areas that already contain plants, shrubs or trees. They’re also ideal for building a water fountain, a rockery, or beautifying a pond.
You have a wide range of alternatives when it comes to the Scottish pebbles and cobbles or other stones you select, as well as a plethora of different ways to utilize large rocks in your landscape.
- Deco-Pak Scottish Pebbles (20–30 mm)
- Scottish Pebbles (20-30mm)
- Premium Scottish Tweed Pebbles (20-30mm)
- Premium North Sea Cobbles (30-90mm)
- Scottish Cobbles (30-50mm)
INTRATUIN ORNAMENTAL STONES
Intratuin has countless ornamental stones that can be used to decorate outdoor landscapes like gardens, fountain spaces, swimming pools and numerous other options when it comes to décor.
DRAGON STONE
The aquarium decoration dragon stone from Boon is distinctive and unique. You can quickly build the most stunning rock formations, bridges, and hiding spots in your aquarium or terrarium.
PASTEL PINK DECORATIVE STONES
To help the soil retain moisture and prevent weed growth, walkways, patios, and roads can also be paved with pastel-pink ornamental stones.
Intratuin offers a collection of beautifully aesthetic and attractive ornamental stones to decorate the outdoors and indoors, such as aquariums and planters, etc.
OUTDOOR DECORATIVE LUMINOUS STONE
The Rhombus Fluorite is manufactured from Polystyrene, which is non-radioactive, non-toxic, and tasteless. The stones glow in the dark and give a surreal feeling to the garden of your home! Each glowing pebble is 1.3 x 1.7 cm in size.
Glow persists after total sun exposure for two to three hours in the dark. This glow-in-the-dark decoration stone will glow brightly for ten hours when charged. If charged by lamp light, it illuminates for around 15 minutes.
These glowing pebble stones may be used to line a path, border a flowerbed, or fill a planter. They illuminate at night after being exposed to light. These white stones are ideal for aquariums, waterscapes, potted plants, edging flower beds, lighting driveways and pathways, gardening, crafts, etc.
USES OF INTRATUIN ORNAMENTAL STONES
There are countless uses and benefits that one can avail from these decorative pebble stones, such as:
- It can be applied to lawn boundaries as a decorative finish.
- Perfect for use as a beautiful plant pot topping.
- It might aid in reducing surface water floods since precipitation can pass
- It can help prevent surface water floods since rainfall can pass through.
- Coverage: 30 mm thick at 0.3 m2.
WHITE ORNAMENTAL STONES
These white dolomite paving stones are a perfect choice for embellishing fences, waterfalls, and overall landscape coverage. They are mainly used as decorative garden borders and pot toppers to enhance the beauty of your surroundings.
These white stones naturally shine in the sun and change color a little bit when they become wet. These 15-25mm garden stones are ideal for outdoor use. They may be utilized as attractive swimming pools, flowerbeds, rockeries, garden borders, and landscaping projects.
LARGE ORNAMENTAL STONES
The best approach to designing eye-catching elements in a garden setting is using boulders, slate rockery, and walling. The sizes and forms of boulders and rockery stones range from sharp and angular to semi-rounded. Every garden design, from the Japanese to the English cottage, benefits from the stunning impression that boulders and rockery create.
BOULDERS
There is a noticeable contrast in color, form, and texture between boulders and slate rockery, with boulders often being more enormous.
- Welsh Quartz and Granite Boulders have jagged, rough edges and range in dark and medium grey tones with touches of pink and brown. In classic English gardens, the soft colors would be immediately noticeable. Still, they also look stunning in themes with more modern aesthetics.
USES
- AS WATER FEATURES:
A water feature may easily be given a mystical creative touch by using boulders. You are free to use your imagination.
For example, why not arrange two boulders to form a small valley to control a stream’s flow or scatter individual stones over the water to create ripples? There are a ton of choices!
- AS BORDERS
In order to divide larger spaces and develop entirely new areas within your garden, boulders and rockery are frequently utilized in combination with beautiful gravels & aggregates.
- FOR GENERAL LANDSCAPING
Boulders may be organized in a number of ways, from single key elements to clustered swarms, and they can be as plain or complex as you choose.
The possibilities are endless, whether you want a boulder feature in a dining area, a border to create sectioning or obstacles for a kids’ play area. We suggest burying about one-fourth of the height of the boulder, heavy side down, for stability.
SIZES
Three basic sizes of boulders are available:
- 150-400mm (about 30-50 per crate),
- 400-600mm (3 or 6 per pallet)
- 700-1200mm.
ROCKERIES
Be large and daring without fear! Large garden stones provide height and dimension while working as the rockery’s centerpiece and focal point. Smaller stones can be clustered together tightly in groups of two or three.
Graphite Grey Slate Rockery and Multicolored Rustic Slate Rockery are two examples of slate rockery that may be used to frame a rockery in a fashionable manner.
The wonderful grey tones of slate walling provide an excellent natural finish that is considerably more attractive than any concrete block or manufactured walling. Graphite Grey Slate Rockery is striking grey and occasionally contains a natural stream of stunning gold flowing through them.
For Graphite Grey Slate Rockery 250-400mm or Multicolored Rustic Slate Rockery 300-700mm, rockery is provided in roughly 50–70 pieces of wire cages each. About 1 ton of slate is contained in each box of grey slate walling.
FLAT ORNAMENTAL STONES
As their name implies, these pebbles and cobbles are flat and have a smooth, oval-shaped form that has been gently smoothed by water. These carefully chosen ornamental stones may be utilized in a variety of ways and provide a timeless charm to any landscape design.
Being the flattest range, they are simple to stack, organize, and utilize in water features, pebble mosaics, and path construction. They are a standard option for use in Japanese garden designs.
SIZES
Flat ornamental stones are usually available in sizes of 70-50mm and 40-20mm.
USES
- They are used for pebble art and painting
- Flat stones are often used for arranging on patios and walkways
- There are no two identical stones, and you are free to use your ideas and creativity.
- These flat decorative stones are best for mandala, aquarium decoration, zen stone decoration, for outdoor landscaping projects.
BLACK ORNAMENTAL STONES
Black Ornamental stones are the ideal accessories for candles, vases, floral arrangements, fountains, craft projects, and more. Additionally, natural colors go well with most décor because they absorb all the waste.
USES:
- Black Pebbles are one of the aquarium’s most crucial components because they prolong the water’s freshness and health.
- Use ornamental pebbles as a focal point in planters, outside landscaping, and any original indoor and exterior design.
- Exceptional ground covering for pathways and paths.
With a variety of decorative stone options, including pebbles, cobbles, gravel, and chippings, you can easily add a fashionable finishing touch to your landscape.