Having a garden in your house is a luxury not many can afford to keep and maintain in Pakistan, mainly due to lack of space in traditional neighbourhoods and housing societies. In addition, the expenses involved in maintaining a perfect garden also deter a lot of people from creating such spaces in their homes, even if they do have room.
However, if you’re someone who has a garden but can’t seem to figure out a way to make it look good, without putting a dent in your wallet, here’s a thought: how about creating a stunning rockery made of simple stones and flowering plants?
Let us discuss some of the best design ideas for a DIY rock garden.
1. Creative stepping stones
If you have a big garden, you can create walkways in the middle with hand painted DIY stepping stones. You would need some paints, a brush and lots of imagination. You can paint different insects, colourful patterns or even footprints on the stones. This will add an interesting design element to your garden. Place stepping stones in a way that you can easily walk in the garden. You can also create a small rock garden in the middle of your lawn. Make sure to leave an empty space in the middle. Remove grass and weeds with a spade. Now level up the ground. Throw in some white marble chips as the base, and a few carefully selected stones and boulders. Place your potted plants in the middle and, hey presto, your low-maintenance, yet aesthetically pleasing, rock garden is ready.
2. Use logs as a seating arrangement
Have you always wanted to sit in your garden and enjoy a cup of tea in the evening? Even if you have a small house, it is possible for you to achieve this. Ask your gardener to cut out some logs for you. Or you may purchase them from a gardening store. You can keep them as is – looking natural, but you can also paint it dark tan. In the corner space of your garden, leave a square piece of land vacant. Add some white marble chips and different shaped stones as the base. Place logs cut in circular shape and then a flat log on top to make it a wooden bench. Create a wooden table as well in the middle for a perfect seating arrangement in garden. Use flowering pots of petunias, phlox and asters and place them besides the log. Here you go! You have a lovely rock garden of your own.
3. Rock garden in an apartment
If you are thinking of creating a rock garden for an apartment, you can easily make one using a wide variety of pebbles and stones. Whenever you visit the Clifton beach, you can start collecting different coloured pebbles and different types of stones. From small round stones, to striped pebbles you will find a huge variety at the sea-shore. Once you have a good reservoir of these articles, you can then create a DIY rock garden. If you have potted plants in your balcony, you can arrange them in a corner and place the carefully chosen pebbles around it. You can hand paint a few rocks and place them with marble chips inside your flowering pots. A small rock garden for the apartment is ready.
4. Rock beds with cacti
Cacti and rocks go hand in hand. They look amazing together. For a quick DIY rock bed you can place small carefully chosen rocks that have rounded edges in the centre of your garden. Create a border with white marble chips and plant your cactus in it. Some design ideas for a DIY rock garden are rocks painted as cacti in flowering pots and placed amidst live cacti. This creates an interesting twist to the rock bed with cactus.
5. Minimalist rock garden
A minimalist DIY rock garden is not only simple and easy to make but adds a minimalist look with a modern touch to your outdoor space. No matter how big or small your yard is, just choose a small corner and spread out a few rocks. Add a bird bath feature to attract birds to your rock garden. Placing a big boulder also creates an impressive minimalist rock garden.
6. Trellis in your rock garden
Your rock garden can become a work of art if you are creative enough. While walking in a park or on a road, if you spot a rock that can add value to the garden space, pick it up and use it for a unique rock garden. There are fallen bird nests, intertwined branches, boulders, naturally coloured rocks and coconut husks that you may find while strolling in a park. Pick them up and bring them home. Place rocks in different angles. Clean the treasure you hand-picked and create a DIY rock garden. Give the guests who visit your house a visual experience they will never forget. A trellis in the rockery can transform your green space into an insta-worthy garden. You can also plant a creeper that will gradually cover the trellis and when the flowers sprout, it would become the perfect spot. Hang orchids from the trellis and give your garden the wow factor.
7. Stone seating
If you are in for a bonfire during cold winter nights, stone seating is the most appropriate arrangement for your garden. Even in summers, when the winter nights offer a cool breeze, light a bonfire in the middle and enjoy a barbecue party. These majestic looking stone seats will have to be created using big boulders or flat stone slabs. Enjoy your rock garden to the fullest.
9. Painted DIY kids’ rock garden
This summer vacation involve your kids with a fun activity. Invite them for a DIY kids’ rock garden. If you already have a rock garden but it needs a revamp, it is time to ask the kids to put their imagination to use. Hand them a few paints and rocks. Ask them what insect or vegetable comes to their mind when looking at the rock. You can guide them in hand-painting lady bugs, caterpillars, colourful insects, vegetables, fruits or flowers. Give them a free hand to try and test. Ask them to place it in your rock garden where they think it would look natural. With the help of your kids, you will revamp the rock garden in no time
10. Make terrariums
It isn’t always necessary to have a rock garden only where you have grass. There are plenty of ways in setting up a vertical garden too. You can come up with interesting and creative design ideas for your rock garden. If you are looking for ways to repave a tiled area of your house, like the living room, try having a rock garden there. Using white marble chips, or white pebbles and a few black rocks, create a pretty rockery within your living room. Add some palms, ferns, crotons and cactus to give it the perfect look. You can also hang a terrarium in a bottle or maybe keep it on your centre table. It will add a sense of calm to the living area.
11. Raked rock gardens
You can keep things simple in construction but visually appealing by raking pebbles into design patterns – just like a Japanese zen garden. These raked circles and soft wavy lines will create a calming effect in the DIY rock garden. What’s more, you can always change the pattern whenever you feel like. Rake the pebbles and you have another unique pattern.
12. Table top rock garden
Creating a small DIY rock garden can just have the same calming and therapeutic effect as sitting in a full sized rock garden. People living in smaller houses or apartments, which usually do not have a backyard, can create a tabletop rock garden. Grab a few rocks with rounded edges, some pebbles a few twigs and easy to manage plants like cactus in a small tray. Arrange them nicely and put them in the centre of your table or maybe choose a corner – whichever way suits you – and it’s done.
