Perfect stone compositions: where to start?

Creating a stone composition is both a science and an art. This time the shows”This is my garden” interviewer, landscape designer Domas Timinskas revealed how many different functions rocks can perform in your garden and what tasks you should do before starting your arrangement. By the way, he also knows a trick for growing moss on a stone!

We teach how to create functional zones for your land in the “My Garden Design” course. Here we introduce the laws of design and the design process. During the course you will create a new project of your plot directly on the drawing.

Each stone has its own character

Domas Timinskas says that it seems easy for him to choose stones for his garden, but this task sometimes becomes difficult for customers: after all, there are no rules that indicate how to place the stones. A person feels that stones would be suitable for his home, but does not know where to start.

The landscape designer notes a fundamental mistake that sometimes makes homemade stone compositions unattractive: when stones are dropped anywhere and in any way. In fact, just like plants, you need to know how to handle stones. Did you know, for example, that each stone has a so-called face, the side from which it appears most beautiful?

Finding out where the face or bottom of a stone is, what relationship it creates with neighboring stones is not always as easy as it might seem at first glance.

From oases of peace to communication spaces

The initial plan for how and where to place the stones should arise in your head. At this stage, there are three most important questions you should ask yourself:

• which side will the stones be looked at,
• what environment will surround them,
• because they are needed in that place.

This will depend not only on the architecture of the stones, the way they are arranged, but also on the energy of the space itself.

For example, you can install a fireplace between the stones and sit with your guests on those stones for a cup of coffee – this is exactly the solution chosen by one of Dom Timinskas’ clients, who wanted to create a space for action and communication in his courtyard.

Meanwhile, Domas Timinskas wanted a more enclosed space on his land, surrounded by tall plants and with embedded stones. According to the specialist, stones serve perfectly to create a philosophical and meditative environment, but it is important to know how to arrange them correctly.

Where is the stone face?

Examine the selected stones, turn them from all sides (if you can lift them).

The face of the stone is the most characteristic side of the stone, where there are more wrinkles, stripes and various patterns.

The bottom part of the stone is the widest part and the top part is the narrowest part.

Domas Timinskas says that the same stone can be built and laid, there is no single rule. How deep to plant it, the designer decides not based on the mass of the stone, but based on the desired final image: sometimes you can simply place the stone, sometimes you can bury it quite deeply.

In the exhibition, Domas Timinskas also showed several possible options for using the same stones to create different compositions. It is important to know: it is not the stones themselves that create the atmosphere, but the way they are put together.

For example, stones can be used to create a “family”. Place a larger stone vertically so that it “looks down” from above, and frame it with two smaller ones on either side, symbolizing a steadfast father and his supporting wife and son. Stones can be buried deeper in the ground or placed on the surface. By matching the proportions of the stones, such a group will attract attention and create an impression of coziness.

Another theme of the composition can be “communication”. By moving the same three stones further apart and arranging them in a circle, a completely new space for socializing is created.

Don’t be afraid to play with themes and the stones themselves: it is important that the function of the composition is satisfied and that you like it, and this can only be achieved through experimentation.

By choosing the right plant combinations, the stone compositions you create will reveal different colors. The more greenery there is, the more natural your stone “sheds” will appear.

Boxwoods, rhododendrons, hillocks and mountain ash go well with stones. You really won’t wonder if you choose to grow wintergreens or snapdragons next to stones.

The choice of plants also depends on what function they have to perform. For example:

• complete the composition with colors,
• create a shadow
• emphasizes the red (or other shade) of the stone.

If you want flies…

When it comes to stones, you probably won’t find anything more natural and moving than moss growing on a stone. If you also want the stone to be wonderfully mossy and smell of antiquity from afar, try growing moss yourself.

The landscape designer shared a tried-and-true trick: Apply diluted sour cream to the side of the stone where you’d like more moss. Yes, you read that right, this trick really works!

Well, moss grows even faster in shade, so try incorporating stones where there are already trees or other taller plants.

Briefly about the stones:

• Every stone has its face;
• You can use stones to sit on;
• You can install a fireplace between the stones;
• Different compositions can be created from the same stones;
• It is important from which side you look at the composition;
• Moss grows best in shade and when diluted sour cream is applied.

This article is based on the show “Here is my garden”. In it you can also view plots with stone compositions already made by landscape designer Dom Timinskas and find further advice on where to start decorating your land with stones.

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RELATED COURSES:

“My Garden Project” is a course aimed at those who own land from several to a dozen acres. In them we will help you understand the most important principles of modern design and apply them to your specific plot. We are not talking about specific plants, but about the design of the entire plot. During the course, participants make sketches directly on their drawings.