23 landscaping ideas with stone

Striking steps

Terraced stone steps in a mix-and-match pattern create a strong focal point, while "character" plants create visual interest on both sides of the path. Rusty-hued Carex testacea softens the front path, while green kniphofia, plum Heuchera "Obsidian," Libertia peregrinans "Bronze Sword" and euphorbia surround the "Karl Foerster" grass. Across the path, drifts of Picea sitchensis "Papoose," variegated iris and Phormium "Dusky Chief" encircle a ginkgo tree.

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Budget-friendly curb appeal

A variety of heat-tolerant plants with low water requirements provide year-round interest. Pavers take up most of the space where thirsty grass might grow instead, creating a striking pattern while helping save resources and money in the long run.

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Gravel entry

Gravel's earthy texture, its give underfoot and its crunchy sound are the reasons this oldest of hardscapes will always be perceived as the softest of paving materials. This gravel entry is a clean, casual foil for plant textures and colors. Japanese silver grass billows over the basalt wall, at right, beside climbing hydrangea. "Maori Sunrise" New Zealand flax in a container punctuates the small pond in the middle, while "Palace Purple" heuchera, mugho pine and gunnera fill a bed near the house. Cotoneaster spills onto the gravel.

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Storybook setting

Irish moss adds classic charm to an informal steppingstone path flanked by river birches. Creeping Jenny, yellow-green Japanese forest grass, campanula and variegated boxwood mingle in the garden bed.

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Transform a driveway

Transform an unused back half of a driveway into a curving path of concrete pavers, making room for a lush garden bed to the side.

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A stylish optical illusion

Individual concrete pads create the illusion that they're hovering lightly above the desert floor. Their exposed aggregate finish blends in with the native soil's stony texture.

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Anchoring a living wall

The stone walkway and gravel path create a smooth counterpoint to the wild living wall featuring ferns, bromeliads, coral bells, spider plants and elephant ears.

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Bold shapes

In this Malibu, Calif., garden, grass circles appear to float on a river of black pebbles that winds through a grove of bamboo.

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Connecting raised beds

Generous gravel paths between raised vegetable beds give this Washington-state garden its casual farmer's market style. Wide enough to accommodate wheelbarrows, the gravel paths ― laid atop landscape fabric ― stay mostly clean and weed-free.

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Fieldstone path with flair

A fieldstone path made of small, local stones winds through a shady moss garden decorated with ivy, ferns and spring-­flowering bulbs. Fieldstones have a more rustic look than flagstones, with rougher surfaces and more variation in shape and color.

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Making a park out of a path

This entry path feels more like a nature trail than a garden walk. Thyme grows between steps; boulders, cactus and rosemary fringe the path's edges. Even before guests get to the house, wide steps made of concrete aggregate encourage them to slow down and enjoy the garden. If your yard doesn't have enough sun for thyme, tuck Corsican mint or Japanese sweet flag between your steps or pavers; both have scented foliage. Stagger your pavers to slow the journey.

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Set pebble path

Pebbles are too smooth and round to make a suitable paving if left free to roll around. But when set in concrete with their flattest side up, they create a perfectly ­navigable path with an interesting texture.

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Lovely terraced staircase

Hefty granite boulders help anchor the hillside and, lined up along the terraced staircase, they form the perfect spot for displaying plants. The weeping orange sedge repeated on the right helps soften the scene.

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Solving drainage problems in style

Mix gravel with rocks of varying sizes to add interest in large areas. This technique also solved a drainage problem. The gravel path, edged on the right with "Libelle" hydrangea and a bank of maidenhair ferns, straddles a cluster of large, flat stones that creates a bridge over a seasonal-runoff channel. Water runs through a pipe hidden beneath the channel's river rocks to a catchment pond at the far end.

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Barefoot patio

Planting a conventional turfgrass lawn is not a water-wise solution in the arid West. Nor is paving a big area always practical, since that much hardscape creates a lot of heat and glare, says Nate Downey of Santa Fe Permaculture. But if you lace paving stones with ribbons of native buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides), you'll achieve an eye-calming "soft patio" effect, as Downey calls it, that needs much less water than a traditional bluegrass or fescue lawn.

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Attracting butterflies

Flagstone skirting a simple columnar fountain gives the impression of a path winding through a canyon. Yellow- and blue-flowering plants, such as agastache, butterfly bush and Spanish broom, provide plenty of color near the entry and along the driveway and attract desired winged guests. The fountain in the center provides a necessary supply of water to butterflies.

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Connecting with your surroundings

A circular patio of tinted concrete aggregate is edged with rose flagstone. The naturalistic spa backing, tough plants and the paving's rosy tones visually connect the patio to the surrounding desert.

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Squares and rounds

Colored stones, surrounded by pavers of stained concrete, create the illusion of a stream bubbling through the center of this 12-foot patio in Berkeley, Calif.

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Using recycled materials

Large and small aluminum letters, set between irregular chunks of black slate, give this 8-foot-wide patio in Alameda, Calif., a contemporary flavor.

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Outdoor fireplace

This friendly looking fireplace sits on a gravel patio, accompanied by a traditional arrangement of furniture. The structure was built from concrete blocks and covered with manmade, though convincing, river-rock veneer.

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Pebble shower wall

Interlocking 4-by-12-inch tiles faced with pebbles create an eye-catching texture for the backsplash of this outdoor shower in Los Angeles.

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Sleek outdoor shower

This outdoor shower is tucked into an alcove next to the rear stairs. The slate backsplash and side wall of rounded faux river stone add up to a natural-looking backdrop.

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