How to ROCK a Rock Garden!
Landscaping rocks. We mean that as both a verb and a noun – great landscaping adds hugely to curb appeal, and landscaping ROCKS, can combine with plants to put your house on the map. That’s right. A rock garden, with succulents and florals, can make your house a landmark in the neighborhood — the one everyone remembers because of its uncommon visual interest – “Just look for the rock garden …”
But how to design, and plan and build?
Glad you asked.
Design-Build in a Weekend
It doesn’t take a landscaping architectural degree to pull off a rock garden. Just so you know. To start with, DIYnCrafts says, just designate a space, mark it off and then remove the sod. Once you have the grass out, you can add your rocks and plants. This is a great concept for a corner of a front lawn.
The trick, Country Living’s top tip reveals, is to vary the size of the rocks. Landscaping rocks for your garden should be all different sizes with enough space left in between for your plants – some big, some tiny. You can ask the nice people at the Tree Farm and Nursery in Longmont – 303-652-2961 – where to get some nice big rocks.
Or, click on The Spruce for six possible sources of free rocks for your landscaping needs – from construction sites and Craigslist to Next Door and Freecycle. Once people start diving into gardening tasks they sometimes put them on the edge of the street for the pickings!
For a simple design with rocks and greenery, check out The Spruce’s how-to, complete with list of materials and diagrams. The skill level is strictly beginner’s, but for a six-hour effort and $50-$100, you can have a rock garden grace your yard by next week!
Planted Well suggests you start with a corner of your backyard if you’re new to rock gardens, but if you find inspiration in one of its 21 Rock Garden ideas, no one says you can’t try your hand at larger spaces, even inclines and hills.
What to Plant in a Rock Garden?
Planted Well also recommends finding small plants that take drought well. Tiny bulbs and succulents look great in these gardens, as do creeping plants and ground cover. But don’t restrict your garden to just smallish plants, big plants have their place as well, and its exactly that contrast in sizes that the eye loves.
Look at some of these rock garden pins on Pinterest. Succulents are perfect for people who live in Erie because these plants thrive in high altitudes. The drought-resistant plants are originally from areas with a dry, desert climate so they can grow without too much water. (They’re also perfect houseplants for those who have little time to care-take because succulents don’t need a lot of babying.) 
Hens and Chicks are great plants for any rock garden because these small plants multiply as they grow, and because of their size, they are able to creep into the smallest spaces in the garden to make it fuller. They do not need a lot of water to grow, which makes them ideal for rocky soil that will not retain water. This is a flowering plant, but it is a great addition to the garden at any time because of the red, pink, and purple highlights that can be found on the leaves.
Garden Lovers Club recommends nine more plants to fill your rock gardens, including purple Douglas moss phlox, prickly pear cactus, yellow alpine alyssum and blue fescue.
Leave it to The Spruce to collect 23 more plant ideas, including additional succulents and creepers. For more inspiration and rock garden ideas, like using slabs for “stairs” in sloping yards, and rocks that likely take a crane to put in place, view the Better Homes and Gardens inspo slide show.
Rockin’ the Gardens in Colliers Hill
Whether you want a rock garden with or without plants, the backyards and side yards of Colliers Hill provide an awesome backdrop for both. Drive through these north-of-Denver neighborhoods and take note of the amazing views and choice amenities. Schedule an appointment to tour the model homes from Richmond American Homes, and Century Communities – and coming this summer – K B Home, with paired possibilities. With lots of options right now in ranch-style or two-story designs homes in Colliers Hill are priced from the high $300s.
