Trend Alert: Rocks and Boulders in the Garden

As gardens trend toward naturalism, we’ve been spotting a design element popping up in gardens from Southern California to Maine, and everywhere in between: rocks.

Yes, every garden has rocks (sometimes annoying quantities of them), but we’re talking about big rocks—in some cases, boulders—that have been placed artfully into the landscape. These aren’t rock gardens; rather, they are verdant, often densely-planted gardens that leverage rocks as one of many design elements.

“Rocks are almost like sculpture,” says California-based landscape designer Fi Campbell, who studied ceramics and sculpture in art school and often uses boulders in her work today. “I think of them almost like sentries.” Rocks can create a focal point and give your garden a sense of age and permanence, especially in a new garden. “When you put a garden in the ground, it takes a while for plants to really ground a landscape, no matter how densely planted or full it is,” explains Gavin Boyce-Ratliff, the founder of GBR Landscape in Maine. “Stone—whether it’s modern or rustic—has the power to really provide those bones.”

Here’s how to use them successfully in your own garden.

Start with a sketch.

“It’s important to draw something up, even if it’s a sketch on a cocktail napkin,” advises Campbell. “If you’re dealing with anything that’s bulky and weighs hundreds of pounds, having a plan in place is the best way to start.”

“You can build off of a boulder because it makes a statement right away,” says Campbell, who describes selecting a rock’s site as a “painterly” process. “You want to integrate them in a way that feels like there’s continuity and flow.” Note when your eye catches on an area, and consider placing a rock or two there.

Pick the right rock for your locale.

“A rock is not just a rock: They’re like characters,” says Ashley Lloyd, the founder of Llyod Landwright, who is in the process of relocating to the Seattle area. When trying to select rocks for a site, Lloyd and the other experts we spoke to suggest you take a cue from what is naturally around you.

Both Boyce-Ratliff and Lloyd, who work in rocky New England, often use rocks that they uncover while digging for a new house or a new landscape. “It just gives that feeling that you’re building it into the landscape,” says Boyce-Ratliff.

Dig them in.

You can’t just plop a big rock down and call it a day, you need to embed it in the ground a little, explains Lloyd. “It just really does help them feel more at home in the garden,” she says. “It’s just like plants, we’re digging them in.”

Use them to define a bed.

Instead of building a concrete wall, Molly Sedaleck, the founder of ORCA used dry stacked stones to hold back the soil in a bed planted with silverberry—a less formal take on a stone retaining wall. “What I love especially about this treatment is that it has nooks in it that you can sit on,” says Sedaleck. Campbell adds, “If you’re lining borders, it’s better to pile them onto one another so that there’s more of a natural flow.”

…or to add intrigue.

“I like them to be little surprises here and there,” says Boyce-Ratliff. “Whether it’s a bed of ferns or a larger sea of perennials, having a stone peeking out to remind you that there’s some grounding force within this softscape layer is nice.” Sedaleck also notes that, “A rock under a tree is a wonderful invitation for someone to come sit in the shade.”

Pair them with other hardscape.

Boyce-Ratliff suggests using large, natural stones to “blend that gap where you used more fabricated and cut hardscape or had to go with precast concrete.” By using some naturally-weathered material you’ll take attention away from the manmade materials. Likewise, Lloyd says she often uses rocks in places of transition–both in topography and usage—also describing the effect as a way to “soften” a design.

Bigger is usually better.

“You don’t want to put stones that are too small in places to be an accent because then it can feel out of place or out of proportion,” cautions Boyce-Ratliff. “You just want to be cognizant of what is going to feel powerful or heavy versus too small and maybe a distraction.” Sedlacek found just such a powerful boulder in Southern California and suggested to her client that they could create a boulder daybed. “They have a whale-like feel to them in person,” says Sedlacek of the stones. “It’s a scale that makes you feel like a kid.”

Plant around your rocks.

Rocks and boulders will look more naturalistic if they’re woven into your garden design. Campbell says she tends to plant creeping or low-growing plants around boulders on some sides and something that comes up a little bit higher behind as a backdrop. “Try to create this continuous line, so that there’s height, there’s perspective, there’s movement.”

See also:

• What’s Trending at the 2025 Chelsea Flower Show?
• What Is an’Agrihood’? The Newest Garden Trend That Can Increase Your Real Estate Value
• Trend Alert: A Carex for Every Garden