Gone are the days when rock gardens mean a cactus and stone desert. Have you heard about xeriscaping? Ever thought about pebbles and semi-precious stones as yard art? Life is a Garden sat down with industry experts to get the best advice, inspiration, and plant picks to help you save time and water while maximising your garden’s aesthetic beauty.  

Rocking around 

Stones and pebbles can become works of art in their own right. With so many different colours and textures, arrangements and complimenting accessories, rock gardens are for anyone looking to make a statement. The key to long-term success and almost no maintenance is good quality weed guard sheeting beneath your stone feature. Here are some rocking yard art ideas:

• The striking minimalist: Pair pure white pebbles with contrasting black tiles or black painted pavement slabs to give walkways and entrances a sleek look. Alternatively, go for equally bold black pebbles with a few summer-flowering, white button sedge (Kylinga alba) ornamental grasses to set off the contrast. This indigenous sun-loving evergreen produces a clustered white flower head that is carried on an elegant, long slender stem.

• Earth child: You can purchase bags of pink rose quartz (pebbles and rough stones) to use as centrepiece stone mandalas or walkable labyrinths. Pair your crystal arrangements with other softer stone shades (river rocks are lovely) and bring in some local steekblaarblinkgras (Melinis nerviglumis) to compliment the pink notes from the rose quartz. This very hardy ornamental grass will thrive in full sun and produces the sweetest plumes of fluffy pink to red seeds that appear all year round and attract seed-eating birds.

• Dare to be different: Ever heard of rock balancing? This is a recreational activity where different-sized stones/pebbles are precisely stacked on top of each other to create a beautiful work of art. This ‘sport’ is practised around the world and has many Instagram pages devoted to sharing the masterpieces people have created, not to mention the stunning locations and seemingly impossible balancing skills. Rock balancing promotes calmness and focus and will add height and intrigue to the garden. Create multiple towers around your space and challenge your friends to try it too – it’s harder than it looks but totally worth the vibes (and talking points).

• Colour is everything: If you’re crazy for colour, stones are your crayons! Create flowing stone spirals along the edges of beds to bring in movement by using grey-blue, white, and green pebbles. Highlight containers with a bull’s eye design using various sized stones and bring it all together by planting krantz aloe (Aloe arborescens) for shades of orange and red, as well as rock sage (Thorncroftia succulent) for magenta pink, and brandy bush (Grewia flava) for blue-green foliage with spectacular large yellow blooms.

Top Tip: The overuse of gravel can increase the soil temperature around plants. Rather use gravel in areas that are further away from beds and not directly in containers.  

Xeriscaping explained 

Pronounced as zeer-e-skey-ping, this creative gardening technique is much less of a mouthful than it sounds. Simply put, xeriscaping is intentionally designing a landscape to minimise watering, reduce maintenance, and optimise your garden’s seasonal longevity. A common misconception is that this method is all about cacti, succulents, and gravel – but there’s so much more to it as our industry expert explains:

“Xeriscaping is the new trend for old and young.  Young couples tend to go with this style more and more. The new “lock up and go” movement tends to force lots of my clients to opt for this style, but also older people feel they want a beautiful garden, with lots of colour but less maintenance” - Marionette Hoffman from Plant Paradise in Pretoria.

Garden jargon check: Xeric plants are those which have developed a number of possible strategies for coping with low moisture environments, such as reduced leaf size, far-ranging or deep root systems for penetrating soil in search of water.

Guidelines to successful xeriscaping 

Follow these pointers to create a modern, environmentally sustainable, and low-maintenance garden feature or entrance. 

• Begin by deciding on the look and theme you’re after and then assess the current plants in your yard. Remove thirsty pants and put them up for adoption, keep the drought-hardy, xeric ones.
• Decide on a focal point and see which existing pots or features will work with the new design. Remember to keep it simple and minimalistic for great impact.
• Accessories your focal point with grinding stones, big rocks, water features, large pots, and statues or wall art.

• Always work with the height in the back and shorter plants or décor towards the front.  Go for structure and minimalism.
• Choose different textures like wood, steel, and concrete together with plants to really make an impact.
• If your style is more formal, work with symmetry and equal numbers like 2’s or 4’s. For more informal gardens, work with odd numbers, for instance: 3 different pot heights.
• A high-quality weed guard (not plastic) is a must. This will contribute to moisture retention in the soil and will help with soil erosion as well.
• Any soil covering or mulching is also a must to protect the roots of plants, help with moisture retention, and attract insects and wildlife.

• Plant low-maintenance plants that are evergreen, hardy, and will stay neat in winter and summer.

Trending now: The Japanese-Zen gravel garden is a true statement maker. You can also use bark chips, nutshells or xeric-type groundcovers to give you a softer look. 

Top xeric plant picks: 

• Spekboom (Portulacaria afra) 
• Golden sedum (Sedum adolphi)  
• Whale’s tongue agave (Agave ovatifolia) 
• Jelly bean plant (Sedum Rubrotinctum) 

• Verbena species and rosemary 
• Blue fescue grass (Festuca glauca) 
• Osteospermum species (African daisy) 
• Desert spoon (Dasylirion wheeleri) 
• Madagascar palm (Pachypodium lamerei) 

• Tree aloe (Aloidendron barberae) 

Top small garden tip: Make use of smaller xeric plants that are still colourful enough to make a big impact. Go for bigger pots where a mixture of succulents can be planted for a pop of colour. 

You can adopt a fantastic variety of pebbles, accessories, and xeric plants from one of our GCA Garden Centres. Most stores also offer delivery services to make your shopping experience even more convenient. Jump aboard the stone train this October and design a feature that showcases your style, creativity, and passion for sustainable gardening. Life is a Garden, rock-on!