Designing the ideal landscape for your front or back yard can take a lot of work. When doing so, you’ll want to carefully consider what features you want and what will fit in with the style of your home and work well in the local climate. While flowers, shrubs, pavers, and landscape rock are all great options you may want to include, virtually no other landscape feature will have as dramatic an effect as using boulders to create a focal point or complement your other features. If you are considering adding boulders to your landscape in Las Vegas, here are a few things to consider that can help ensure you get the most out of them.
Plan the Location of All Boulders Before the Other Landscape Elements
Boulders are extremely heavy, which means you will always want to carefully plan out your entire landscape first to ensure that you only need to have the boulders moved once. Large boulders are typically the most dramatic or eye-catching part of your landscape. As such, we would always recommend choosing where you want them to go first and then planning the other landscape features around your boulders. If you’re completely redoing your landscaping, placing your boulders before doing anything else is always best. If not, you may need to dig up or move other features to accommodate the boulder, and there is also a risk you could damage these other features when setting the boulder. Read about why using an artificial turf is preferred.
Make Sure All Boulders Are Partially Buried
Whenever landscaping with boulders, you want them to look as natural as possible. Think about all of the boulders you’ve seen in nature. Were any of them just resting right on top of the ground? Probably not, as boulders always naturally settle down into the ground, which means you’ll also want to make sure that any boulders you use are also partially buried or else they won’t look quite right. You will usually want around 25% of the boulder underground, but this can vary depending on its size, weight, and shape.
Burying your boulders is also essential for safety as it ensures they can’t tip over should any kids try climbing on them. Placing the boulders directly on the ground also creates a risk that they could crack or get damaged when they start to settle. Partially burying the boulder prevents this as it will help support the weight and ensure it won’t settle as much.
Go Bigger Than You Think You Need
It can be hard to judge just how big a boulder is until it is in your yard, and what looks big when you first see it will often look much smaller once it’s in your yard and partially buried. The last thing you want to do is spend money on something that suddenly looks much smaller than you thought and doesn’t provide the desired effect. This is why most professional landscapers recommend choosing a boulder that looks bigger than you think you need. After all, you can always bury it slightly deeper if you do find out it’s bigger than you need.
Group Boulders Together for Added Effect
A single huge boulder can add quite a dramatic effect to your landscape, but lone boulders can also stick out and not look as natural as you want. As such, you may want to consider grouping several boulders of varying sizes together, using multiple boulders to surround other features, or contrasting with manmade features like lawns, walkways, and fences.
Choose Colors to Match or Contrast Your Landscaping and Home
When choosing boulders, you will want to pay special attention to not only the size but also the color and how it relates to other features and your home in general. For instance, if you’re also using landscape rocks or pavers, choose boulders in a color that matches or contrasts these other features. You could also choose whatever color of the boulder you like best and then match your other features around this. Either way, the point is to choose a color that seamlessly fits in with the other landscaping, so the boulder doesn’t look out of place.
Use Boulders to Improve the Appeal of Your Rock Garden
Rock gardens are an excellent option for your landscape in Las Vegas, both in terms of maintenance and also to limit the amount of water your yard needs. Landscape rocks can also be combined with native plants and/or succulents to give your yard more of a desert feel. While rock gardens on their own can be quite striking, placing a few boulders throughout can help things flow better and provide a more natural look.
Use Landscape Lighting to Complement Your Boulders
Another great option is to experiment with different landscape lighting options to give your boulders an even more dramatic effect in the evening. For instance, you can uplight a boulder to make it more of a focal point or use backlighting to increase the contrast between the boulder and other features.
At Parsons Rocks, we carry a wide selection of boulders for landscaping architectural landscapes in Las Vegas. No matter what size, color, or style you’re looking for, we’re sure to have something that perfectly complements your landscape and fits in with your desired style.
