Advice on using small rockery stones for decorative purposes in borders

[Straightbat]

Hi, everywhere I have looked, where there are rockery stones used in borders they seem to be surrounded by pebbles. I'm not talking about a rockery as such here - just some small stones dotted around in 2s or 3s between small shrubs where I have larger gaps in my border, or maybe even where plants are at risk of smothering each other without any separation. But it would mean placing the stones in borders surrounded by bark mulch.

I am thinking of green granite stones. What d'y'all think ?

 

[oneeye]

If you use a weedeater you may not want to use stones for a border because of the weeds are harder to get with a weedeater. . Plus with smaller rocks, weed eaters will shoot rocks across the yard and possibly injure someone or into a Window. I have 2 broken house windows, and one driver side window, I broke with flying rocks from a weed eater. .

 

[oneeye]

I have weed eated 1000s of yards (residential & commercial jobs) and found rocks in beds and landscapes a big pain for the owner and workers!

 

[Sheal]

@oneeye I think Straighbat is referring to the flower beds not the edges of them, we call them borders here in Britain when they are against the boundaries.

@Straightbat are you thinking of stones that are hand sized?

 

[Esther Knapicius]

to me it would be extra bother to keep the stones in place. but if your area is small an other tasks are short for your day go for it.

 

[oneeye]

Weeds grow in flower beds in the Spring and Summer and are a problem unless you don't mind pulling weeds by hand. If you pull all the weeds out by hand then stones are ok, Little rocks in a flower bed are a problem when it comes to removing weeds with a weedeater. Yes rocks are pretty but they hold excess heat and can be a problem. By all means add them and you will see what I'm talking about.

 

[Sheal]

@oneeye as a point of interest for you. A very high percentage of gardens in Britain are small, being an island we don't have the space here that you have in America. With that in mind we tend to dig or hand pull weeds out and weedeaters (we call them strimmers) are only really used for cutting overgrown areas or to tidy edges of lawns.

 

[Islander77]

I edge my flowerbeds with small white stones I gather at the beach. Larger ones in the border sometimes. The white ones look really attractive and suppress the overgrowth at the edges. NB I am on the Irish Atlantic coast.