When you first tidied and organised your garden, you might first have worked to remove the random rocks and stones that had found their way into your garden. That’s understandable when clearing, but the step you might have missed is the one where you go to buy rocks, lava stones and pebbles and start putting them right back into the garden again.
If this sounds like a strange idea to you, then it’s because you’re unaware of the many benefits that come from adding stones to your garden, and especially to your container pots within your garden. Of course we aren’t saying that rocks should be randomly strewn about. There is an order and purpose to them, which we will explain below.
1. They Help Keep Flies Away
For those people who find themselves constantly fighting to keep away flies and similar pests, then proper application of stones and rocks can help. If you top your planting soil with sand and decorative rocks, you can prevent fungus gnats in particular from laying their eggs in that soil. These gnats look a lot like fruit flies. That keeps populations of flies away from your precious plants and flowers.
2. Rocks Act as a Heater for Certain Plants
If you’re planting a water-efficient garden with lots of succulents, cacti and other low-maintenance (and not overly thirsty) plants, then the same rock and sand layer you create that we mentioned above can create a kind of heat-attraction mechanism. The rocks draw in heat to the mulch sitting on top of the soil, which creates an environment in which those heat-loving plants can really thrive.
3. They Help Boost Water Retention
Clay pebbles in particular are very useful if you need to stop water being lost in the soil for your thirstier plants. They work especially well in containers where it’s easy for water to just evaporate from the soil. These stones will absorb any excess moisture in the pot, but release it again when it is drying out. This little feature also makes them very handy for those who may forget to water the plant on occasion, as plants can feed off the retained moisture for a long time.
4. Larger Rocks Provide Shelter and Protection
In the wild, many plants grow at the edge of rocks and boulders and in doing so gain added protection from the harsh elements. They can get shade on hot days, for instance, and access to trapped moisture that sits beneath the rock. Furthermore, if children, animals or other wildlife were to run through the garden, rocks can provide protection to the soil and plants around them as it’s more natural for many creatures to use rocks as stepping stones
5. Help Your Landscaping Look More Natural
If you’re installing water features and other equipment in your garden, then it’s easy to disguise them with rocks to make them look more natural and integrated into your outdoor space. If you’ve installed an irrigation head, or a bubble fountain, or a water source for a pond or waterfall feature, these can be masked with rocks to create the illusion of being in nature.
6. They Help to Leave the Garden in the Garden
Well placed flat stones in the soil will not just protect your plants, seeds, and soil as we mentioned, but they also provide a convenient series of stepping stones that allow you to traverse and tend to your garden without getting your feet too muddy. In dry places where rain is scarce, dry soil isn’t much of an issue to brush off. However, if you live in a wetter climate with more rainfall, the mud getting caked on your footwear can become an issue!
