Garden Decorating Ideas With Rocks And Stones

Photographer: Erica Dines

As the basis for his landscaping at Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright used stones and gravel, which made perfect sense to Atlanta homeowner Jeff Doud. A fan of the architect, Doud and his wife, Michaelene Conner, bought their 1960s ranch in part because it was designed by Robert Green, a Wright protégé. So when they decided to redo their yard, the couple made trips to Taliesin West and to several Japanese gardens, where they observed many similarities. "A lot of Wright's designs had a definite Japanese influence to them," says Doud. "The plants weren't as important as the structure."

Photographer: Erica Dines

In Atlanta, he found a kindred spirit in garden designer Brendan Butler, who named his company Tokikata, which translates into "the reading of the cosmos through the garden." Butler showed up at their first meeting with a plan for placing rocks and stones in a harmonious manner, without a single plant noted in advance.

"That way the garden evolved over time," says Butler. "We would often pick the right specimen tree on the spot, and Jeff has added a lot himself over the last couple years." The first step in the yard's transformation was removing old trees while saving some, such as a large 30-year-old Kousa dogwood, which became an anchor for the yard. And a river birch near the front door was preserved for its colorful foliage and sculptural bark.

Butler chose hardscapes that represent elements of nature. Boulders placed on their sides become the mountains and foothills, while the squared-off blocks that he used for a pathway depict weightlessness, the illusion of floating.

For the pathway blocks, Butler chose granite because of its clean white color, which represents purity. He also liked buying locally. "Georgia is the granite capital of the world, after all," he points out.

While many clients request waterfalls or creeks as a way of incorporating nature, Butler finds that a little passé. "We thought we'd do something different by just representing the idea of rivers," he says. The dry-rock riverbeds he installed meander through the yard in an organic manner, with varying sizes and colors of rocks for visual interest.

Doud had asked for plants that were Asian-inspired, but not as formal as in a Japanese garden. "I wanted it to look very natural, not set up," he says. Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), including varieties like the peachy-colored 'Baldsmith,' unusual crinkly-leaved 'Shishigashira' and intensely red 'Kandy kitchen,' and dwarf conifers, such as the blue-green Pinus strobus 'Horsford dwarf,' were artfully placed around the yard, not unlike pieces of sculpture. Doud even became a conifer enthusiast, researching and planting perhaps 150 varieties, from umbrella pines (Sciadeopitys verticillata) to cedars (Cedrus deodara 'Feelin blue') and dwarf hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Kosteri').

Butler mixed in succulents, such as creeping Sedum repustre 'Angelina' and hens and chicks (Sempervivens), and moss (fern moss 'Thuidium' and cushion moss 'Leucobryum') to give the yard a modern edge. He included one species of flowering plant -- white camellias (because in Butler's cosmology they signify snow).

Doud likes that the yard has surprises depending on where you stand. "You really have to see it from a lot of different angles to fully appreciate it," he says.

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