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Stone Walls in the Garden
In the garden, stone is deservingly well known as being both beautiful and yet practical. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in stone walls. Read on to learn more about how stone walls can be used in the garden.
Types of Stone Walls
Stone walls can be dry or mortared. A dry stone wall is a wall that does not use mortar to hold the stones together. Because there is no mortar, the stones can shift slightly with temperature differences. Dry stone walls usually do not require a foundation. Mortared stone walls, as the name suggests, uses mortar to hold the stones together. These walls can be built to a greater height than dry stone walls but they do require a foundation.
Dry stone walls can be built yourself, but to get the best feel, dry or mortared walls are best built by professionals, such as landscapers or stonemasons. They will be able to get the best from the stone.
Uses for Stone Walls
Using stone walls in the garden can greatly enhance the feel of the entire landscape. Stone walls, as well having practical features, can create a frame in the garden – highlighting and complementing features such as beautiful garden beds, or even the pool. Stone walls can have the following uses:
• lining the sides of a driveway
• forming the walls of garden beds
• retaining walls for terracing or to prevent erosion
• to create borders
• to parallel the street and divide the nature strip from your lawn proper
There are many other uses for stone walls – it really is up to your imagination.
Features of Stone Walls
Whether your stone wall is dry (no mortar to hold the stone together) or mortared, factors such as the size, shape and colour of the stone are important. Larger walls, for example, look great with larger stones, while smaller walls around a garden bed might look best with smaller stones. You want to achieve the appropriate sense of scale. Flatter stones work best in dry stone walls while round stones need to be installed in mortared walls. The colour of your wall is a personal choice. You may want a uniform look of all one colour, or you can use different coloured stones to create feature areas.
Stone walls are features in themselves and they do present some design challenges. You can build the wall so that it creates a sweeping curve, or even so that it can go around a tree or other feature that you don’t want to move or remove. Archways or doorways can be incorporated into your wall. Turrets on top of the wall can be fitted with lighting for a fantastic evening look. You can even include finials, ornamental pikes, small statues, and poles to support birdfeeders or other hanging items.
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Stonemasonry