Choosing Stone For a Garden Wall

                                                                                         

There are many types of wall stone that are available. They either come from quarries or are actually found in the woods and forests. As much as I would like to, I can't give specific names, since each supplier may have different stone or call it something different.

Basically, stone comes in different widths, or heights if you were viewing it straight on.They might be as narrow as one inch and may go as high as one or more feet. What you select should depend on the height of the wall you are creating and the look that you want.

If your stone garden wall is low and about six to twelve inches high, you can consider a narrower stone. There won't be many horizontal lines that are visible. If your wall is taller, this is not the case. Have you ever looked at a wall and see row after row of horizontal lines? It drives me crazy because eventually they will not look straight.

So for higher walls, you do not want to use stone that is only one inch thick. You need to go with stones that are thicker. Again, the stone selected should in part be determined by the height of the wall, and the stone size should be in scale.

For example, if your wall is two feet tall, you wouldn't want stones that are two feet high. You would just have a wall made from small boulders.....unless this is the look you are going for.

Looking at a stone garden walls, the appearance of the stones, their shapes, heights and cuts can look different. Stones can have a rounded look or they can also appear narrow and flat. Another look is when the stones are larger in size and have a flat face. Sometimes they fit together perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle and have a very precise presence.

With so many choices, how do you choose?
I could say it's a matter of personal preference, but I won't! In some cases it is, but do think about scale.

Another consideration is color. Stones have different colorations in them, and thought should be given to what will be near them or what you also see while looking at the wall.

Some stones are very gray. Some are tan. Others have a combination of the two, and sometimes purples can run through also. I recently selected a stone that was a combination of gray and tans for retaining walls on a project. These walls will be up against the Manchester color travertine pavers from the Andes Collection. This travertine is a pale gold/tan color and thus looks great with the colors in the stone.

What is my favorite wall stone?
If the wall is 2 feet high or more, I like stones that are a mix of sizes. I would use two to six inch stones. And for some pizzazz, I'll fit in some boulders here and there. You can see a beautiful example of this on my website. It is a photo I took from the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia.

Walls can be beautiful. You just have to give them some thought.

About the author:
Susan Schlenger is a Landscape Designer with a degree in Landscape Architecture. To read more about landscape retaining walls, visit http://www.landscape-design-advice.com/landscape-retaining-walls.html

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