Where to find natural stones. Stones and plants for rock garden. Zero cycle work

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They say that happy people look at the sky, and sad people look at their feet. We dare to assure you: many people became happier precisely because they looked carefully at their feet, rather than looking at the clouds. We not only encourage you to follow their example, but we will also explain what exactly you need to pay attention to and what places to walk in order to find a real treasure among ordinary stones: diamonds, amber, gold and even meteorites.

website draws your attention to the fact that the legislation of each country limits the activities of prospectors of minerals and precious metals in different ways. Therefore, before you go on a search, find out which finds will not be a violation of local laws.

Amber

Where to find: The most affordable option is to go to the Baltic Spit. Amber is mined along the entire length of the Baltic coast in Poland and the Kaliningrad region. There are deposits in other places, for example in Ukraine in the Rivne region, in the Dominican Republic, in Burma, but only in the Baltic Sea you will be offered an excursion that includes collecting amber on the shore and in the mined-out land of the quarry.

It is better to go in late autumn, winter or early spring. After the storms, the course of amber begins. Strong waves erode the amber-bearing rock and throw ashore heaps of driftwood and algae, in which you will have to rummage to find the amber. Experienced hunters do not wait until the amber is thrown onto land. They enter the icy water, use large nets to catch accumulations of fin and algae, carry the wet pile to the shore and carefully sort through it in search of pieces of amber. It is believed that the most productive storm is a short one, because a prolonged storm will simply carry all the washed amber back to the sea, and you can only get it if you have a diving suit and good cold tolerance.

The most expensive and rare specimens of amber are pieces with insects, small animals, fry, blades of grass, etc., trapped millions of years ago in resin. Such inclusions are called inclusions. And the value of such finds often exceeds the value of diamonds.

Meteorites

Precious stones and metals can be purchased at every jewelry store. But you won’t find meteorites there, because they are much less common, which means they are much more pleasant to own. Large meteorites that form craters fall very rarely, while small ones fall more often. It's worth trying to find them.

Where to find: People who have made searching for meteorites their hobby advise beginners who have not yet acquired a metal detector to start searching on flat roofs.

Yes, it sounds strange. But the fact is that on the roof you will not be distracted by objects of earthly origin, and it is there that you can find many micrometeorites. Do not ignore the holes under the drains, into which meteorites could fall during heavy rain along with streams of water. Examine your findings. All meteorites have a “melting crust” - a thin layer of melted substances that make up the “guest from outer space”, and regmaglypts - small depressions located over the entire surface of the meteorite body. These are the main, but far from the only signs. Experts, for example, employees of the meteoritics laboratory of the Geochemical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, will help you finally determine the origin of the finds.

Diamonds

If you think you're lucky, then try your luck in search of the hardest mineral on our planet - diamond. Although it's not just a matter of luck, of course. Washing diamond-bearing rock in a special sieve is hard work that may not pay off. Therefore, tune in not to the find of the century, but to an unusual adventure that you will tell your friends about for a long time.

Where to find: The world's only diamond quarry, the Crater of Diamonds, open to visitors, is located in the USA, in the state of Arkansas. Any stone found is yours. So keep your eyes open and don't miss the precious stone: it can easily deceive you with its modest appearance. Rough diamonds are nothing like the sparkling diamonds we are used to seeing in jewelry stores.

Gold

Now that you have learned how to operate a spot tray for washing diamonds, it’s time to go for gold.

Where to find: In principle, you can pan for gold or find a nugget in any other country, but Australia has the most favorable laws towards free miners.

Australia attracts not only with gold. It is also famous for its opals: most of these magnificent stones are mined here. As with gold, anyone can try their hand at gold mining. But with opals it is more difficult, because if you do not have special equipment, you will have to wander through old tunnels, peering into the mined rock, in the hope that those who were here before you missed some good stones. However, this happens often. Opals glow in ultraviolet light, so if you take an ultraviolet LED flashlight with you, you will definitely not be left without a find.

Creating a rock garden is a very real idea. Some gardeners, without much thought, plant any plants and flowers they like, surrounded by stones of all varieties and sizes. But if you approach the matter in detail, become familiar with the art of creating this wonderful garden composition and find out which flowers are more suitable for creating a rock garden, what stones can be used for an alpine slide, the rock garden will be created much more professionally. The creator of the composition is faced with the following task - the man-made slide should look natural, resemble a picturesque area lost in the mountains. Artificial decor when decorating it, it is better not to use it - in this case the natural effect will disappear, and the composition may look fake.

All components in a rock garden should form a harmonious combination: stones and plants should match well in size and color. Groups of stones and individual boulders should be positioned so that the composition looks as less artificial as possible

The best stones for decorating a rock garden

Stones for an alpine slide, first of all, perform a decorative function, but different rocks have different degrees of fragility, different degrees of moisture absorption, so it is better to have an idea about some of the properties of stones in order to make right choice. The most common materials used today to create alpine slides are limestone, sandstone and granite. Let's take a closer look at the properties of these stones.

Option #1 – granite

This is a dense stone that does not absorb moisture well. Granite happens different shades- reddish, greenish, gray and almost black. Working with dark stone requires taste and experience, otherwise the composition may turn out gloomy. Granite is heavy and difficult to process, but in a rock garden this stone looks very good. This stone affects the acidity of the soil, so it is recommended to plant conifers and heathers in a granite rock garden. Granite boulders are large; in their company, fragile flowers look especially delicate and graceful (for example, small varietal tulips).

This composition with large granite boulders does not look too bright, but very natural, like a corner created by nature itself

Option #2 – sandstone

This stone is most often used to create alpine slides, because... has excellent decorative qualities. It is a smooth stone with a coarse-grained structure and a rich range of shades. Sandstone can be beige, pinkish, brown, cream, reddish. It is a good basis for planting plants and forms effective combinations with any type of plant. When creating a slide using sandstone, you do not need to select flowers specifically; plant whatever you like on the slide.

Sandstone is also good because it forms an expressive combination with other stones. For example, in this case, sandstone and pebbles used to lay the walls of the stream are well combined in a water rock garden

Option #3 – limestone (tuff, dolomite)

Dolomite and tuff are used in the decoration of the slides. They allow moisture and air to pass through well, help normalize soil composition, and are optimal for growing alpine plants. Over time, lichens and moss begin to grow on the limestone, giving the boulders an even more picturesque appearance.

Limestone is a soft stone; time makes its lines smoother, and you can process it yourself without effort. The color range of limestones is also wide - you can choose stones with an amazing bluish tint, golden, or beige. The use of these stones opens up scope for the implementation of creative ideas. Limestone should not be combined with plants that grow in acidic soils. Dolomite is a strong and durable material, available in white, black, gray and brown. The translucent white dolomite looks especially beautiful on the hill.

Dolomite soft brown-beige shade - suitable stone to create a composition. Moreover, alpine plants will feel good in such company

Tuff comes in beautiful shades - from white to dark pink, is easy to process, and allows moisture and air to pass through. Good stuff to create an original beautiful rock garden

Option #4 – clinker brick

Sometimes clinker bricks are used to decorate a rock garden, but not rectangular, but oval or irregular. The bricks are laid out in layers, using shades of different colors. Such a slide looks good if the house is decorated with clinker bricks.

In addition to these stones, you can also use slate rocks, stones with a layered structure - they look very beautiful on the hill.
Boulders for rock gardens can be purchased in special stores or picked up yourself; sometimes you can find a suitable specimen on the side of the road; on pebble beaches, especially with large boulders, you can also find wonderful material. Pebbles on a hill can be of different sizes - place accents using large stones, and zones can be demarcated with small and medium stones.

Clinker brick is an atypical material for creating an alpine slide, but it can be used, especially if it was used to decorate a house and garden buildings

To create an alpine slide, both plants and stones were successfully selected. Small pebbles, slate and limestone are beautifully shaded by conifers, hostas, juveniles and flowering plants

It can be composed of stones of one or more types. In the second case, the combination should look organic, so that the dissimilarity of the stones to each other does not catch the eye; such chaos disperses attention. Large boulders can be slightly buried in the ground, creating the effect of rock coming to the surface.

How to choose the right stones?

If you want to plant bright flowers, it is better to choose a stone of a neutral color - it will play the role of a background. When using plants that are not particularly expressive, select bright stones - against their background the plants will look more expressive and contrasting.
When piling up stones of different types, there is a risk that the slide will turn into a pile of cobblestones; use stones of similar shapes and similar colors.

An example of an unsuccessfully created composition - both stones and plants are located too chaotically and in large quantities, accents are not placed

In this case, a rock garden with a small pond looks very harmonious - areas with large boulders in the distance, a pond decorated with pebbles, groups of ferns and hostas form a single whole

A successful rock garden made of boulders - plants bloom on the upper and lower terraces, horizontally and vertically between the stones, as a result the composition looks natural and bright

The height of the hill also matters - stones with sharp corners are more appropriate for a high embankment, while rounded stones are more suitable for a flat composition.

Layered sandstone looks good in a water rock garden. The slide on your site should look harmonious without disturbing the unified style.

On summer cottage good owners arrange flower beds and alpine slides. When arranging them, questions arise. Where to get stones for an alpine slide is the main one.

An alpine slide is one of the elements of a dacha or house (Fig. No. 1). They can often be found on the property of friends and neighbors.

To create a slide of stones, you need to plan out all the work. Correct work is performed in several stages:

1 Search for an idea.
2 Preparing the site for creating a slide.
3 Device at selected location drainage system.
4 Selection and placement of stones.
5 Selecting suitable plants for the slide.
6 Preparing fertile soil and planting plants in it.

All these steps are very important to get good results. Each of them requires some time, especially the third. It can be considered basic. The period during which the slide will be in operation will entirely depend on the quality and correctness of the drainage construction. To build a drainage system, you can use sand and crushed stone left after building a house, small stones and garbage.

Soil for plants is laid with careful compaction of the base, otherwise the slide will soon completely lose its shape. Peat, clay, and fine gravel are added to the soil. Plants chosen are unpretentious. They grow in wild forest conditions. These can be low-growing coniferous shrubs, winter-blooming plants, and mosses.

Material selection and installation

Where to get stones for an alpine slide is the main problem when arranging a garden. Stones can be of natural origin or artificial. They have different properties, sizes and breeds. An alpine slide should look like a complete work even without plants. Each rock garden should have its own highlight. The stones in the slide serve as foundation and decorative functions. The weight of stones is recommended 15-100 kg. These are mainly sandstone, granite and slate. Small pebbles are added to them, which perform a decorative function. This is just the external decoration of the slide. The stones are even painted different colors.

Granite is a stone with high hardness. He practically does not age over the years. Granite is painted in colors from gray to red. Flowers cannot grow on it, but it is irreplaceable as a fence for an alpine hill (Fig. No. 2).

Limestone is a popular stone used to create alpine slides (Fig. No. 3). It can quickly change its shape and color. Plants bloom well on the stone. Limestone grows overgrown with moss very quickly. Its corners are quickly smoothed out. Its disadvantage is that those plants that do not get along on calcareous soil do not bloom on limestone.

Sandstone is cheap and accessible. Its structure is porous and layered. Color - creamy gray and red. The stone absorbs moisture well and is able to store it for a long time. Chemical composition- neutral, able to interact with any plants.

Slate fits well into an alpine hill made of any type of stones. Its white, brown and gray tones harmonize perfectly with the landscape.

Artificial clinker bricks with rolled edges are also used for the construction of beds and alpine slides. It has high strength, a variety of shapes, and a wide color spectrum.

Dolomite is a strong, frost-resistant and durable stone of gray, white, yellow and brown colors. Rarely, transparent dolomite, translucent and pink is found.

For long service For structures in the garden, stones must be laid correctly. Their size should correspond to the dimensions of the rock garden. For a large slide, larger stones are also needed. The largest boulders are stacked downwards, smaller ones - on top. This arrangement of stones will protect the slide from deformation. It is allowed to use several types of stones, but it is not recommended to take more than three.

The best version of the slide is one with 4-5 layers. Each layer can be sprinkled with soil or pebbles. The stones themselves should not be stacked too tightly. You need to leave room for living plants.

When constructing an alpine slide, you may encounter the following problems:

1 Where to find ideas? In living nature. Be careful when walking. You can see almost finished or almost finished slides.
2 Not happy with the color of the stones. This is quite normal. Stones can fade from year to year. You can simply tint them regularly with waterproof paints.
3 Natural stones do not suit you with their shape and size. In this case, you need to purchase artificial decorative products in the form of stones in special stores. There you can choose any color and shape.
4 You can’t find a place to install the slide. You should choose a place away from the road, in the sun. It's good if you're nearby coniferous tree O.

Requirements for pebbles and cobblestones

A good rock garden should look a little like a mountain corner. If you decorate a homemade structure with some ornamental plants, it will take the desired form. appearance. You can plant anything, but not ornamental plants made of glass or plastic. If bright plants with colorful flowers are chosen, then cobblestones can be used as a background. For dull and modest grasses, it is better to choose brighter stones. A smooth boulder is suitable for flat areas. Sharp protrusions will highlight the beauty of the alpine slide. The basic requirements for choosing stones are as follows:

harmony;
strength;
compatibility.

A hill of stones should not stand out from the overall design of the garden. Stones should not be destroyed by careless blows of a tool during planting. The chemical composition of the rock should not destroy plants. Where can you get such stones?

On sale you can find magnificent specimens with a perforated structure (Fig. No. 4). Various plants can be planted in the holes. You can also buy stones of other types here. But they can be collected independently in quarries and along river banks. Someone has granite or sandstone deposits nearby. There you can get everything your heart desires. Cobblestones of various types are sold by representatives of landscape organizations. They almost always have tuff, shell rock, sandstone and other rocks. Small specimens are available in pet stores.

Quarries can become a permanent supplier of materials for alpine hill equipment. Farmers and private farms can be of great help. Farmers often have boulders of various sizes that they do not need in their fields. They can be yours for little money, or even for nothing. Much remains in the piles of rubbish left after construction is completed. Buildings prepared for destruction are also a source of such material. Completely free materials are located along river banks and at construction sites railways, on the sides of highways.

It is better to take stones in elevated places. It's much easier than lifting them up. When transporting them home, they are wrapped in burlap so that they experience less friction against each other.

Various kinds of flower beds in the garden have long become commonplace. Currently, alpine slides are becoming increasingly popular. This is a relatively new building. If done correctly, it will decorate the area for many years.

To create it you need to prepare several stones.

Stones for an alpine slide can be taken from different types or combined. Stones can be painted in any color. After installation and filling of fertile soil, flower, coniferous or herbaceous plants. It is very good to create a small fountain or stream. Then, along with beauty, additional coolness will come.

Landscape designers successfully use stones to decorate artificial ponds. With their help, you can easily disguise waterproofing film or equipment that supports the life of the inhabitants. Natural minerals give the pond natural look and harmoniously fit it into the surrounding exterior. To ensure that the planned composition meets your expectations, study which stones for the pond you can choose for decoration and how best to use them in landscape design.

In what areas of the reservoir can stones be used?

Here are some ideas for landscape design:

In the coastal area, place several large boulders of irregular or round shape. They will help protect the water surface area and emphasize its beauty.
In the shallow water area, place several blocks, partially covered with water. By combining the decorative decoration with pebbles that completely cover the shallow water, you will achieve a superb effect.
The bottom of the reservoir does not need to be decorated. However, several large boulders will allow you to camouflage the submersible pump and secure it well.
When decorating islands, limit yourself to a few decorative elements located around their area or on the shore.
Place a block of an interesting shape at the source of the spring. To do this, drill a hole in it, into which insert a hose coming from submersible pump.
When decorating a waterfall, lay flat stones in steps to create a beautiful cascade through which water will flow.
When constructing a fountain, use decorative elements to mask the nozzles and the hose through which the water moves.

How to choose stones for decoration

The choice depends on the location area and design ideas. It is important to consider not only the shape, but also how the rock tolerates the constant presence of water.

What stones can be used to decorate a pond?

When thinking about what kind of stone is needed for a pond, pay attention to the options presented below and their features:

Granite is a widespread natural material. Looks great on the shore of an artificial reservoir, has a light gray or pinkish tint.
Gneiss is a rock similar in composition to granite, gray-green in color. It has a characteristic layered structure. Great for decorating the bottom, coastal areas, and waterfalls.
Marble - luxurious decorative stone. It has a varied palette of colors, which depends on its composition. May be yellow, green, black, blue or red. Sometimes used in the form of slabs.
Limestone is a grayish-white rock without shine. It is able to dissolve in water, so it is used exclusively for dry work on the shore.
Sandstone - has a red, yellow or gray tint, and is a traditional material for constructing artificial reservoirs.
Dolomite is a mineral with a white or yellowish tint. Due to the presence of shine, it looks excellent in quality decorative finishing ponds, waterfalls, fountains.
Basalt is a black or gray rock. May be porous or dense. Most often used in decorating banks and paving paths.

It is advisable to think through the choice of stone for the pond even before digging a pit - this way you can avoid mistakes with the shape of the bowl.

Where to find stones to decorate a pond

When solving the problem of where to get stones for a pond, you can choose two options. In the first case, you will have to put in a lot of effort, but the cost of the material will be minimal. Beautiful boulders can be found in many places. They are used for dumping at construction sites and for backfilling roads. You can arm yourself with a map of the area and determine where abandoned gravel pits are located. It’s not difficult to find a beautiful block in the forest or near a river. Pebbles are found in abundance in the coastal zone. The only problem in this case will be the difficulty of transporting the decor.

The second option involves ordering material from professionals who sell stones with home delivery. The cost of production will be higher, but the problem with transport and loading will be solved.

An alpine slide is an interesting and attractive element of landscape design, the main component of which is an artistically arranged pile of stones. Where they can be obtained in the required quantities - this will be discussed in our article.

What is an alpine slide

Before you find out where to get stones for an alpine slide, you need to talk about such a wonderful element of landscape design as an alpine slide. You've probably come across a structure made of stones and plants in your neighbors' plots. With or without a pond, it is this design, called an alpine slide, that gives an indescribable charm that attracts our admiring gaze again and again.

Its creation consists of several stages, each of which in itself is very interesting when implemented.

Good idea.
We outline a suitable place for its implementation.
We are installing drainage there.
Stones. Their selection and installation.
Suitable plant species.
Suitable soil for planting them.

The main thing here is to take your time and calmly, responsibly and carefully approach each of the above points. Of all of them, the third is fundamental. It's like the foundation of a house - from it correct device The service life of the slide itself will depend. When constructing it, you can just use the remains of sand and crushed stone, as well as construction waste that remains from the construction of a house, garage or bathhouse.

It is better to compact the soil under the vegetation immediately so that the hill does not sag and lose its shape. It can be mixed with peat and clay, small stones such as gravel. And when it comes to plants, it’s better to choose unpretentious ones that grow quietly in the forest of your region. Usually these are mosses, low coniferous bushes and winter-blooming plants.

Selection of material and its correct installation

Stones of both natural and artificial origin will fit here. Just take into account their different properties, characteristics and sizes. Even if not covered with vegetation, the alpine slide should have a finished look. The stones in it perform 2 functions - both decorative and fundamental. In terms of weight, it is preferable to weigh from 15 to 100 kg. As a rule, these are slate, granite and sandstone. Small things like pebbles are also useful for decoration. To add interest, the stones can even be painted in different colors with special paints.

Granite itself is very hard and durable. The years have no effect on him. Natural colors range from gray to red. You cannot plant flowers on it, but it is simply irreplaceable as a fence for a hill.
Limestone is convenient for flower growth, easy to process to give the desired size and shape, moss also takes root on it very quickly. The only negative is that plants that do not like calcareous soil are not friendly with it. In general, it is a common stone when constructing rock gardens.
Sandstone is just right for all plants; it perfectly retains and stores moisture due to its porous and layered structure. The color is cream-gray or red.
Slate is a universal stone that fits perfectly into any hill; because of its colors - gray, white and brown, it harmonizes perfectly with any plants and landscapes.
Dolomite is durable due to its strength and frost resistance. Its colors are gray, white, brown, yellow, and even transparent, translucent and pink dolomite is occasionally found in nature.
Artificial clinker bricks - durable, different in shape, with rolled edges and a wide palette of colors - are also in great demand in structures such as alpine slides.

The more correctly the stones are laid in the slide, the longer it will last. Naturally, we place larger stones at the very bottom; if the slide is supposed to be large, then there should be a lot of large stones. You can use several types of stones, but no more than three. Next, we lay the tiers with smaller stones, and do not fit them tightly to each other, but with intervals for the soil in which we will place the plants.

In total, 4-5 stone layers are optimal for a rock garden.

Questions may also arise during the construction of the slide, for example:

Where can I find a suitable slide? Yes, in wildlife, on a walk, for example, notice around you, and you may actually come across a suitable option right in the forest.
Where can I get the right colors of stones? It is normal for stones to fade over time due to exposure to the sun. Just take the desired waterproof paint and touch them up from time to time.

Neither the shape nor the size of the stones suits your idea of a rock garden - in stores of the relevant type you can find artificial products in the form of stones of the desired sizes, shapes and colors.

You can’t choose a suitable place to locate the slide - if on your site there is a bright place away from the roads, and there is also a coniferous tree growing nearby, then this is exactly the right place where you should place your rock garden.

What is required from stones and cobblestones

An alpine hill is a piece of mountain landscape in your garden. Therefore, when decorating, adhere to several rules - all plants must be natural, living, and not artificial. If you want to see bright flowers on it, then you need to combine them with cobblestones as a background. And if you like discreet herbs, then you need to select bright stones for them. For a flat and calm area, smooth boulders are suitable, but sharp edges will perfectly emphasize the beauty and add sophistication to your rock garden. In general, you should choose a good stone for the alpine slide that you make with your own hands. In general, stones must meet the following criteria:

be durable
be harmonious
be compatible with each other.

You can find interesting solutions on sale - original stones with drilled holes into which plants can be planted. You can also find stones of various types in stores. But you can also find them in nature, along the banks of rivers or other bodies of water. Perhaps in your area there are quarries where granite or sandstone is mined. You can purchase cobblestones of various sizes you need from landscape organizations; you can also buy tuff, sandstone or shell rock there. Small stones can be found in simple pet stores.

If there are quarries near you, then you can simply get hold of any stones there for free. There may be unnecessary and very disturbing stones on farm fields or collective and state farm fields; the owners will only thank you for getting rid of them! After construction, you can also find suitable specimens among the garbage. Dilapidated buildings or buildings ready for dismantling can also help you in selecting stones. Also look carefully at the sides of roads, railway tracks and on the banks of reservoirs; it won’t take you long to find the necessary stones there.

When transporting, it is better to wrap the stones in burlap so that they do not bump into each other and lose their desired appearance.

Needs - usefulness

A simple flowerbed on a plot is no longer comme il faut. But the alpine slide is much more interesting. With its appearance, your site will literally be transformed, even the landscape will visually change with the appearance of a piece of mountain beauty.

So, to summarize, stones can be combined from different rocks, painted in different colors, and plants can be planted after installing the stones and backfilling with fertile soil. A stream or a small fountain will only add color to the rock garden. Low coniferous plantings nearby will also enliven the situation.