Book Review: Stonescaping - A Guide to Using Stone in Your Garden

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Book Review: Stonescaping - A Guide to Using Stone in Your Garden
By Jo Anne DeKeles
Jul 19, 2006, 07:33

Some of the nicest Garden Railroads I have seen are the ones that look like they are part of the natural garden that they occupy. I know that many of the gardens have been built just for the railroad, but they look as if the track was put into existing scenery. The railroad plays off the garden and is an integral part.
As we rebuild our railroad because of our recent move I wanted to learn more about how to use stones in the garden. I found that some of our members had purchased this book - Stonescaping - A Guide to Using Stone in Your Garden - so I got a copy.

For less than $13.00 at Amazon I found the book a good introduction to creating a more natural use of stones and rocks in my Garden Railroad

The book is broken down into three parts. The Asian Tradition, The Western Tradition and Working with Stone. It gives you ideas about the different design approaches at home using stone features to solve common site problems and how to make your garden look better.

The chapters on building walls, paths, terraces, stone-rimmed ponds, rockeries and troughs provide step-by-step instructions for creating these and other design features using basic hand tools.

The book helps you understand the different rock types and how their grouping will affect the look of your garden. Before I read this book I thought you just piled them up. I learned that there is a sequence for grouping rocks and stones that will make your garden look better.

I liked the drawings and information as it applied on how to make a big impact in a limited amount of space. There are tables that explain the different characteristics of stone and rocks as well as some handy tips on visiting a stone yard and how to move stone without breaking your back.

There were several examples of types of stone walls; Mortared Walls, Mortared Ashlar Wall, Mortared Rubble Wall, as well as Dry Stone Walls. I know that on our new layout a large section of it will be raised up so I can set the trains right on the track without bending over. This gave me some good ideas on how to make it all happen.

There was a very interesting section in the book on how to use Hypertufa to make stone in your garden. It is a combination of cement, peat moss and sand that can be molded to make plant containers or other garden ornaments that look like weathered stone. Hypertufa mix was developed originally as a response to the demand among alpine and rock plant gardeners for containers which could withstand temperature changes. Sounds like a perfect solution for Idaho. Watch for some future articles on this process.