Landscaping with StonesI have to say that landscaping with stones is definitely not for me! While I have seen many a fine landscape which included stones in their design, I am not diligent enough to have this type of material in my landscape design AT ALL!
For those of you who feel that you’re a little bit like me in the “lazy” department, I would recommend careful consideration before deciding on landscaping with stones in your design. I’m certainly not against the way that they look when they are installed by a professional, or by someone who has taken great care to do it right. Installing this type of material, however, would require the use of other material that I’m not in favor of either, such as landscaping fabric. To be successful in landscaping with stones, the area should be made level, a heavy duty landscaping fabric should be laid down, and an edging material (another type of landscaping material I’m not real fond of) should be placed around the area, creating a sort of “bed” for the stones to be hugged by. The edging helps to keep the stones in place. The specific location of the landscaping plants would be marked by X’s on the fabric. The X’s are cut into the fabric, and the plants are placed into the soil beneath the fabric. Laying down the stones is the final step. Here’s my problem with this...first of all, I’m not a fan of landscaping fabric (follow the link to find out why). Second of all, stones have a tendency to fall over the edging at times, landing on the grass that you’ll need to mow. Having those stones run through your lawnmower can be quite dangerous. I have had my car window broken from flying debris from the lawnmower.
Sidebar: Please make sure your pets and children are in the house when cutting the lawn. I used to leave my dog outside with me because she stayed away from the lawn mower. How tragic it would have been if the rock that hit my car window had hit my beloved Abby instead! She stays in the house every time I cut the grass from now on!
Third of all, in fall it's easy to have lots of debris - leaves, sticks, etc. fall into the area covered by stones, making clean up difficult and tedious. Of course, there are occassions when landscaping with stones is attractive and appropriate. 
I was able to find a nice example of landscaping with stones at my parents' trailer park in Wisconsin Dells. This picture is an area specifically set up for "horseshoes" (is everyone familiar with this game?) which serves as a great place for stones. For those of you who don't know, large horseshoes are thrown from one stake to another. The team that gets the most shoes around the stake wins. I didn't capture the actual play area in this picture, just the edge.I don't believe that landscaping fabric was laid down however the bed of stones is several inches thick, and is regularly inspected for the appearance of weeds. As you can see from the picture, along the edge of this area, they have laid landscaping rocks to prevent the stones from spreading onto the grass and to keep the stones all in this designated area. I'm not a natural fan of stones, but this area helped convince me that there are certain designs for which landscaping with stones would be a good idea, even in an informal landscape. Formal or informal, stones or mulch...you make the call! Happy landscaping!
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