The backyard is the best place for relaxing and enjoying the great outdoors in the summer and fall. To re-create the kind of activities and enjoyment of nature in the landscape as occurs in the park or during a hike, you’ll need to know where you can access certain materials as the design and construction plans come together. Here are some ideas on implementing a naturalistic backyard in Lancaster, PA, with options from our garden supply store.

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Natural Stone

With no two stones alike, the possibilities are endless for creating beautiful, nature-inspired artistry to add to a landscape. The key is to create each element of the landscape to blend in with the others and with the natural surroundings, instead of building structures that are a centerpiece or main focal point.

Decorative gravels and river rocks are a stunning addition to a garden, walkways, or flower beds. They come in many shapes, sizes, and colors, so you can choose the type that is best for blending in naturally with the existing landscape and the natural environment.

• Walkway: Build a meandering garden path or walkway with flagstone to wind through the landscape. Make use of the side yard with a walkway that connects the driveway to your backyard or patio, or create a path from the patio out to the garden. Place each stone to sit a few inches apart from the others surrounding it, allowing grass to naturally grow in between each one or filling the gaps with mulch or gravel.

• Retaining wall: Add vertical dimension to your design with the construction of a retaining wall using natural stone blocks. A wall that is built lower to the ground can also be used as a bench, or a wall that is slightly higher can be filled with dirt, leveled off at the top, and planted with native plants to add to this naturalistic atmosphere.

• Steps: Use larger stone pieces to create beautiful natural stone steps. Install a full staircase leading up a hillside section of the property, or just one or two steps to move up from the lawn to the patio. Line your steps with your favorite accents, from native plants, to small statues, to decorative boulders.

• Boulders: Landscape boulders are an eye-catching addition to use as an accent for steps or gardens. Find a boulder that matches the rest of the natural stone in the landscape, or opt for a stunning contrast with a different type of stone. These accents also add stunning vertical dimension to a yard and are a beautiful background for family photos. 

Water Features

Nothing beats the dynamic interest and soothing sounds of water to make a landscape feel like a true sanctuary!

• A timeless water feature: Continue the use of natural stone as you include water features into the landscape. To create the perfect naturalistic water feature, allow it to blend into the landscape as if it has been there for decades.

• Pond with fish: Dig out a pond on a level section of the yard, and surround it with large rocks and native water plants. Consider adding fish to the pond, or watch to see what types of natural wildlife start to call it home.

• Unique waterfall: Large, flat-top rocks can be used for a waterfall spillover shelf into the pond, or from a higher level of your pond to a lower level. Waterfall features not only add the soothing melody of flowing water to the atmosphere, they are also very beneficial parts of a pond filtration system.

• Dramatic water feature: Another approach to the backyard waterfall is to let water tumble in a cascade over a stack of tiered rocks. This approach can be minimal or more dramatic, depending on the size of the rocks, the height to which they are built, and the amount of water that falls over them.

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