THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 18, 1994 TAG: 9409140430
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ROBERT STIFFLER, GARDENING COLUMNIST
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
THE RETURN TO natural landscaping has brought about another interesting innovation - the use of stone in local landscapes.
Using stone is not new. It's been prevalent in the Orient for centuries. In this country, it originally was used in commercial landscapes, because it required little maintenance.
Bill Pinkham, co-owner of Smithfield Gardens in Suffolk, has been using stone in Hampton Roads' landscapes for more than 20 years and is a leading innovator in the area.
``The trend toward natural gardens has brought about much more use of stone,'' Pinkham said. ``They go real well in woodsy situations.
``The key to making rocks look good in a landscape is to have them look natural. What many people don't realize is that you have to bury a good part of the rock to make it look natural.''
Pinkham emphasized that it's not cheap to use boulders, because you have to use lots of them. You can't use one or two and attain a natural look. Smithfield Gardens buy most of its rocks and boulders from Pennsylvania and West Virginia quarries.
``We like our boulders to look natural, with lots of lichens,'' Pinkham said.
A 1,000-pound boulder is not uncommon in his landscape designs, but it requires a tree cart and six men to put it into position in a garden.
Paul Davis, landscape designer at All Thumbs Garden Designers in Norfolk, says his firm makes wide use of stone.
``We're doing a house at Homearama, beginning Oct. 8 at Church Point, using lots of stone,'' Davis said. ``We use it for patios mostly but also use it for waterfall for ponds.''
The use of stone is increasing, Davis said. ``We recommend it to replace, or instead of, paving or brick.''
It has long been recognized that stones are a must for Japanese gardens. The recent boom in home swimming pools has broadened the popularity of stone landscaping, because stones are often used to camouflage the edge of pools.
Stones have many uses in landscaping. Pinkham used them to form a natural-looking waterfall and fish pond at the Norfolk home of Gray and Diane Kiger.
Nellie Bishop recently moved to Norfolk from Roanoke, where there were plenty of stones and mountains. She missed that atmosphere and wanted the feel of rocks nearby. Pinkham re-created a natural area in a formally landscaped neighborhood, using many large boulders.
One of the most popular uses of stone today is for garden paths. It is rapidly replacing slabs of slate or bricks. A formal garden path at Bishop's home was changed to to include stones and boulders.
Frances Phillips lives on the edge of a golf course in Virginia Beach. Pinkham used rocks to create a privacy area, planted with a shrub hedge to hide the golf course.
George McAtee did his own landscaping with stones in Virginia Beach. He collected paver stones from some of the old streets in downtown Norfolk and around Norfolk State University.
The stones, often called ballast stones, Belgium stones or cobblestones, were used for ballast in sailing ships. McAtee gathered 2,500 stones, averaging 23 pounds each, to edge his perennial flower beds.
Pinkham says he's building more rock gardens than he used to, because many modern perennials do well in sun with less water. Herbs especially are adapted to the growing conditions of rock gardens.
If you're tired of mowing, use rocks in your landscape. They require no maintenance. ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD L. DUNSTON/Staff color photos
Cobblestones form a garden walkway in the yard of George W. McAtee
in Virginia Beach.
LEFT: Bill Pinkham of Smithfield Garden Inc. landscaped this fish
pond with stone for Gray and Diane Kiger of Norfolk.
ABOVE: George W. McAtee hefts one of more than 2,500 cobblestones he
used in designing his yard.
Graphic
DO IT YOURSELF
The Quikrete Co. has added to its line Quikrete Deco Pebbles,
Marble Chips and All Purpose Gravel. They are decorative stone
adornments, used in conjunction with concrete. They can be used
loose or added to the surface of wet concrete, for an original,
attractive surface. The pebbles, chips and gravel are available in
50-pound bags in home centers wherever Quikrete is sold. For the
name of a local outlet, call (404) 634-9100.
by CNB