Jan

I'm no expert, but I love rocks in my yard. I live in Michigan too, so I probably use similar field stone. I find that the rocks I get around here are all different, so they don't work together the same way as rocks would in other areas that are all similar. I like the rough textured rocks better, personally, but I have some of each. I think they look best if you keep rough rocks by rough rocks and smooth rocks by smooth rocks, but I don't always live by that rule. I like to use one bigger rock with two smaller rocks if I can.

I don't always bury 1/3 of the rock. I try to put the flat side down so that I don't have to bury as much. If you're planting stuff around them, you can get away with leaving them less buried. What you don't want is the curve of the rock to show on the bottom. If you can see them getting smaller on the bottom, they look like they've fallen from the sky. PLOP.

You should put rocks where the bed curves out into the yard. That's to make it look like the rocks were already there and you had to build the bed around them.

Again, I'm not a professional, so I might be completely wrong about this stuff! Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Rob

For instance the viewpoint should be taken into account. If you want your bed to curve outward, you might have a better view of the entire area from 3 sides if your rocks were curved inward, creating a backdrop for a small tree (dwarf JM comes to mind) or a grouping of shrubs. Otherwise, you might be following a curve with another curve and that could get boring.

We also had a couple of already-there rocks that couldn't be moved, so we worked around them and they became the only rocks in the bed.

I hope this makes sense. I understand only wanting to move the big ones once, so based on our experience, I'd just advise trying to plan for how you want the spot to look and also consider the planting material you might be using around the rocks.

Elaine

We just finished landscaping our backyard. The landscape designer suggested we did a mound (about 2 feet high) and put 3 boulders at the top. One large, about 2 1/2 feet high, one medium and a small one. We have a dry river bed that meanders at the bottom of the mound. We had various plants and verbenas that will be spreading on the mound. We also have a verbena plant right in between the 3 rocks. EVentually, it will crawl up the rocks.
The rocks were buried about 6 or 7 inches. We were told to get moss rocks from the same quarry, which we did. They are the same type of rocks but have different shapes and a variety of colors.
I am pleased with the results but I am glad we had someone to advise us. The largest rock took 3 strong guys to move it around until it was just right!!
Hope this helps.
Jeannette

Some of my rocks are placed right on top of the soil and you can see below the edge. Same goes for rocks in nature. Placing all of them like this or placing all at 1/3 is what looks unnatural. I have a 5 ft round bolder that sits right on top of the ground - it has been there for thousands of years. On it's own it might look out of place but since it has trees very close by, it looks like it belongs. The moss, lichen and trees tell you it belongs.

On hills or berms, show just 25% of the rock. Nature is slowing washing away the soil down the hill and the rock is just starting to be exposed. Next to it is one that is 80% exposed and almost ready to roll down the hill. Very natural but does not really follow "the rules".

Always in odd numbers? Not in nature. I have two similar sized rocks touching each other. They don't look real natural, but you will find them this way naturally. I call them my kissing rocks and get a chuckle every time I think of them.

A rule of thumb is to use the same kind of rocks in a bed ie don't mix different types. Another rule is to use natural rocks from your area. My rocks come from my property, and I have almost every kind you can think of. So my rocks vary quite a bit and for this area that is natural.

I also use rocks as art forms. One of my rocks is almost white, but very crystline. It is shaped kind of like a dinner plate. I placed it right on the ground in a very open area. It is not a rock but a natural sculpture. From it's placement and the plantings around it I believe it is clear that this is not a natural placement, but a rock to be admired.

I like the unexpected. In my dry bed I have a 4 ft bolder at the bottom of what is a dry waterfall. A slightly smaller rock is perched on top and to the right, looking like it got washed down the hill and got logged onto the larger rock. I spend a lot of time on rivers and see this all the time even if most people will think it an odd placement - that is what I was going for - the unusual.

On big rule you should follow - don't use all the same size and don't place them evenly - don't follow an expected pattern. You will almost never see this in nature.

Rocks should be in scale for the most part. A 4 ft wide bed does not look good with 3 ft diameter rocks. But one big one is great.

What will you do with the garden once rocks are in place. For most of us plants cover a good part of the rocks. If you like thick plantings, the placement of rocks is less critical - they'll just become minor accent pieces in the whole picture.

For many people following the rules gets them into trouble with a bad design.

For split stones you will have to look at a lot of stones to find matching ones, or split one your4self. I found one that split into about 5 flat pieces. Have not used it yet, but put it asside for the right spot. I have another one about 2ft diameter that split while the excavator was moving it. My original reaction - darn, can't use that one. Then the light went off. I placed it at the head of a dry river bed - a kind of source for the water, split by expanding ice. Laying the two halfs took some time to make it look like the smaller piece really did fall off. I'm still not sure I really like it, but it is kind of neat.

comments on picks. You asked :) The comments really depend on what you are trying to accomplish. For me I am looking for a natural look - the stone should look like it has always been there.

The big rock with two birches. Stone is not deep enough, and the flat side is clearly positioned to show off the sign. If the flat side was more tilted either back or to the side like the sinking titanic it would be better. But "one big rock in front lawn" is hard to make look natural.

Four rocks in circle. Spacing between them the same. Lined up in a curve matching the garden edge. Each rock the same size. All of them too far out of the ground. OK, nature could do this, but very unlikely. Remove one of the two center rocks. Bury one so only 20% showing. Move one forward or back. It will look much different.

3 + Iris. This looks quite good with Iris.

My big house number rock wasn't supposed to look natural. I think the house number guaranteed that!

The four rocks in a circle aren't really in a circle. I hired a landscape guy to place those and have gotten similar negative comments on the design forum. That picture was from a couple years ago and I've since rearranged a couple, but most of your comments would still apply. Later in the summer, you can barely see those rocks because of the plants growing up around them. There are also a lot more rocks sort of lined up along a drop in the level of the yard.

I've actually found that in the woods when I run across a rock, it's usually almost completely buried so that you really don't see it much at all. So making them look completely natural would also make them disappear. Sort of a dilemma.

There is another big rock nearby. Is it close enough to keep the big rock company?

Also notice in the back ground that I moved a couple rocks around in the "four rocks in a circle" arrangement.