Request a Quote
The variety in texture and appearance of stone provides a surprising amount of variety when choosing what materials we will use for a rockery installation, soil retaining wall or decorative water feature. Basalt, granite, limestone, sandstone, and granite are all employed in rockery design, and the numerous colors, sizes, shapes, and textures all factor into our design for your landscaped outdoor space. Choosing the right stones for your property starts with specific designs you have selected, as well as the environment and planned location for your rockery.
Growing things create a beautiful contrast and complement to any rockery display. Plant life mingled among your rockeries creates displays that provide a lively and inviting feel. Have a shady spot that could use a little more life? There are plants that thrive specifically in low-light conditions such as hostas and impatiens, so you can liven things up without making extra work caring for your plants. Many rockery designs include plants such as woolly yarrow, perennials, rock cress, and many others to provide ground cover, improve topsoil retention and enhance the overall aesthetic effect of your rockeries, too.
Our installation teams use the following three varieties of rock for building retaining walls.
One Man/Half Man Rock
These are the first choice of rock for smaller walls that will be installed by hand. The terms “half man” and “one man” rocks don’t refer to how many people you need to shift/carry the rock during installation — it actually refers to what the average man can lever with a crowbar. We always schedule enough crew members to ensure that our team can complete your retaining wall installation in a day or less.
Two to Three Man Rock
For the sake of safety and convenience, these rocks are moved and placed using a machine. This term is derived from how we manage installation: one man on the ground, one man operating the machine, and one man responsible for driving the truck loaded with building materials. Two and three man rock installations for retaining walls are the most common installations we do at New Life Rockeries. The mini-machine we send out for wall installations is specially engineered to get the job done quickly and economically. With the assistance of this machine, we can install 400-600 square feet a day on average (the size and available access to your Bellvue property for our truck and machinery may impact installation time)
Boulders
Due to their rounded edges and smoother surface, boulders do not generally make the best building materials for retaining walls. While they may add to a rock wall for aesthetic purposes, boulders are generally better employed as decorative additions to a property.
In terms of aesthetic appeal and overall design, water features add serenity and beauty to any rockery or landscape installation. Khoi ponds, still-water pools, fountains, and waterfalls all provide an accent that gives life and motion to your outdoor space without overwhelming the other elements in the design. Furthermore, the well-planned structure and placement of a water feature can actually improve the overall flow and drainage of water on your property. With so many designs and types of water features available, you should have no trouble finding just the right form and function for a water feature to accent your outdoor space.
Our design and installation landscaping team seeks to provide a voice and a vision for your property that will bring out its very best and most beautiful features. In order to achieve that goal, it is important to select the correct materials and design that will complement the overall aesthetic of your outdoor space design plan. Following our evaluation of our property and your selection of our proposed rockery, we will provide you with a selection of the best materials to make your water feature an enhancement of your rockery design, and offer suggestions regarding placement and location for best effect.