Rock Walls

Build Your Own Dry Stack Stone Wall

Building rock walls out of the native stone is a challenge, mostly because even a fairly small rock is very heavy.

Luckily, common sense and ingenuity has come to the rescue.

In some cases, more recently I was very fortunate to have access to a skid steer loader to assist in the heavy lifting.

The operator moved the rocks to an area that was cleared by grading with the bucket, and then I stepped in to place the rocks in a wall.

Engineering techniques had to be employed on other projects, as the rocks weighed more than I do.

Rolling the rocks using a fulcrum or lever, or sliding them on an old toboggan to move them from one place to another were a few of the methods.

I felt like I was building Stonehenge in miniature.

The hard work has paid off, as I now have several beautiful terraces to plant my Sedum stock plants on top of, and in the spaces between the randomly placed stones there are now Sempervivum and Jovibarba of many different kinds.

It also makes the perfect protected spot for some of my rare hardy succulents like Orostachys and Rosularia, providing them with the perfect drainage they insist on.

There is also room for reptiles like snakes and lizards to make their homes, which can be a little disconcerting if you happen across one sunbathing on the warm stone.

More work on the rock wall projects is still to come, as one of them grows the full length of the driveway.

The hold up? Believe it or not, I had used up all the rocks!

The method I use to build my rock walls is called dry stack.

No mortar holds the rocks in place; I choose rocks from the inventory that fit together and form their own interlocking design.

This gives a place in between each of the rocks to plant drought smart plants in the crevices, which is their preferred environment.

The idea of making concrete building blocks that interlock was derived from the use of native stone.

I like the look of the random stone rather than the sameness of the concrete. One major advantage to the mass production of concrete blocks is that you never have to search for that perfect stone to fit the space available; they're all identical.

I think the concrete blocks are pale imitation of the real thing, which are real rocks held together by gravity and the roots of happy, healthy plants.

go to Drought Smart Plants home page

Xeric Gardens

Landscaping with Rocks

Gravel Garden