Gardening Landscaping

How to Make a Rock Garden

By
David Beaulieu
David Beaulieu
David Beaulieu

David Beaulieu is a landscaping expert and plant photographer, with 20 years of experience.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process
Updated on 10/21/24
rock garden

The Spruce / Christopher Lee

In This Article
Project Overview
  • Working Time: 4 hrs
  • Total Time: 6 hrs
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Estimated Cost: $50–$100

Learning how to make a rock garden is a beginner level landscaping project that's easy to build and can be customized to your desired look. Rock garden designs can range from sprawling, naturalistic creations to faux dried river rock beds to rustic mounds of stones, soil, and plants. The design all depends on your preferences and the amount of space and rock you have to work with. If you have a small area, often the best design is a simple, round raised bed made of select rocks, which is easy-to-build and can be designed with or without plants. This low-maintenance design can fit neatly into any well-chosen nook and will not be in the way when you mow your lawn. If you plant it thoughtfully, it also won't require a lot of maintenance.

Learn how to make a rock garden in your own yard with beginner level skills and just a few hours.

how to build rock gardens

Illustration: The Spruce, 2018

How to Get Free Rocks for Your Garden: 11 Best Ways
1:52

Click Play to Learn How to Build Rock Gardens for Small Spaces

What Is a Rock Garden?

A rock garden is a garden—or part of a garden—that uses rocks as its primary form of landscaping. There may be stones and gravel used throughout the garden to form pathways, borders, and decorative elements. Plants that thrive within rocky soil and low-moisture conditions are planted throughout. Often, these gardens may have a meditative, sculptural look.

Tip

Traditional rock gardens use alpine plants, which are small plants that are native to high elevation areas above the tree line. These hardy plants typically do not need much in terms of soil or water, and they do well in rocky conditions. Because of their adaptability, they're ideal for a rock garden.

Types of Rock Gardens

Rock gardens have evolved over time to work within various landscapes and design preferences. Here are a few of the types of rock gardens you can choose from when selecting the right one for your yard.

  • Raised rock gardens: If you want the lock of a rock garden but in a more contained space, then a raised rock garden could be the right choice. This gives the rock garden a bit more presence within the yard, and lets it function as a decorative element rather than feeling like a random addition.
  • Sprawling rock gardens: When you have a large space that needs to be landscaped but your yard (or your green thumb!) isn't conducive to grass or large gardens of native plants, then a sprawling rock garden is the answer. You can create different levels, pathways, and decorative elements that work together for a sprawling yet cohesive garden.
  • Desert rock gardens: Incorporate elements from the desert, including succulents, cacti, rock color palettes in warm colors, and large boulders emerging from the gravel.
  • Zen rock gardens: You can build a peaceful respite within your own yard with a zen rock garden. Start with pea gravel, line it with stones, and incorporate a few intentionally chosen plants. There may be a water element, depending on the intricacy of the garden. Rake the gravel for an authentic look.
  • Hillside rock gardens: A rock garden built into a hillside lets you leverage a space that otherwise may be difficult for plants to take hold. Incorporate a terraced look or let boulders guide the way. Alpine plants are the best choice for this type of rock garden.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Shovel
  • Garden trowel
  • Wheelbarrow

Materials

  • Stones in a variety of sizes
  • Soil (as needed)
  • Plants

Instructions

How to Make a Rock Garden

You can make a small rock garden with a few simple steps and a few hours, and these instructions can be adapted to the type of rock garden that's best for your style and space. This can be used for a zen rock garden, small sprawling garden, a desert rock garden, and other simple types.

  1. Plan the Design

    Before you get started, take the time to carefully choose a location and plan your design. This will help save time later, especially as you're choosing where different plants and stones will go. Plan out the overall size and shape, any sub-areas within the larger garden, the different types of rocks you plan on using, as well as the different plants that will be used throughout.

    Plan the rock garden design

    eurobanks/Getty Images

  2. Choose Your Plants

    Start your plant selection by choosing a color scheme that will work well with your stone. If the garden is made primarily with red sandstone, you'll want some plants with a hint of red in them, as well as some plants displaying silver, yellow, white, or other complementary colors.

    Choose plants that thrive in well-drained soil and have similar watering requirements. These plants should be suitable for the amount of sunlight the garden receives. Drought-resistant plants are best for rock gardens. Finally, seek variation in plant height and leaf texture for maximum visual impact and interest.

    Purple wood spurge plant in bloom.
    David Beaulieu

  3. Prepare the Ground

    To prepare the soil, clear the area of grass or other organic material, if necessary. Be sure to dig up sod and other plants below the roots to prevent new shoots from coming up later in your rock garden. 

    If plants are a critical part of your rock garden design, make sure to amend the soil to meet the pH requirements of the plants that you'll have in the garden. Add fertilizer and any amendments that will help them thrive.

    Preparing soil

    Ekaterina savyolova/Getty Images

  4. Build the First Course

    Lay out a circle of rocks as the perimeter of your base, making the diameter about 4 feet (or as desired). This forms the foundation of your garden and creates elevation above the surrounding ground. You can use up most of your largest, least attractive rocks in this bottom layer, but it does not require stones larger than about 12 inches in any dimension.

    First course of a small, circular rock garden.
    David Beaulieu

  5. Add Soil

    Fill the area inside the first course with sandy soil, which provides good drainage. If all you have is a clay soil, add sand and compost to it to promote better drainage. Walk on the soil to pack it down.

    Sandy soil

    Getty Images/sbayram

  6. Add the Second Course

    Plan the second course of stones. This can simply be a smaller version of the first course, forming a circle within a circle, or it can take the form of one or more bands of stone that pass through the center of the bed perimeter. The second course should provide plenty of room for planting between the bed perimeter and the second-course stones.

    Since you used your heaviest stones for the first course, you have lighter, more easily maneuvered stones to use for the second course. Try to use the best-looking stones here (any size is fine) because they will be more visible than the foundation rocks.

    Second course of a small, circular rock garden.
    David Beaulieu

  7. Plant Your Rock Garden

    Arrange the plants in your rock garden design while they are still in their pots. Usually, it's best to plant in threes: grouping three of the same kind of plant together or in a strategic arrangement. Keep in mind that you will intersperse rocks among the plants.

    Once you've settled on a layout, begin planting with additional soil as needed, adding rocks for decorative effect as you go.

    If you want to cover small areas of soil with rock mulch (to prevent weed growth), use small stones of the same type or coloring as the major stones forming the rock structure.

    Small rock garden full of plants.
    David Beaulieu

Tip

Give your rock garden a "grown-in-place" look by layering while you plant. Set a few plants first, then add rocks around them, as though the plants have grown up through the "cracks" in the rocks. Try to cover as much of the surface as possible with rocks and plants.

Sample Rock Garden Design

Here is a good sample selection of plants for a small rock garden, chosen for color, care requirements, size/height, and texture:

  • Six pots of Scotch moss (Sagina subulata Aurea) for short plants with a touch of yellow
  • One yellow daffodil (Narcissus) for more yellow; miniature varieties are best for small rock gardens
  • Three pots of wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides Purpurea) for their yellow blooms and red stems; taller plants that give the composition some depth
  • Three pots of hens and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum) for more red color, along with some low-growing foliage
  • Three pots of snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum) for silver foliage and white blooms
  • One lamb's ear plant (Stachys byzantina) for more silver foliage
  • Three pots of candytuft (Iberis sempervirens Purity) for their striking white flowers
FAQ
  • Should I put anything under a rock garden?

    You can add a liner or landscape fabric under your rock garden, but, if the soil is properly prepared, it is not necessary.

  • How do I prepare the ground for a rock garden?

    Prepare the ground for a rock garden by clearing the area of all grass and organic material, amending the soil for any plants, and adding sand.

  • Do I need sand to make a rock garden?

    Most rock gardens will require a layer of a few inches of sand on top of the soil. This will help anchor the rocks and give them something to sink into.

  • How deep should rock gardens be?

    If you're using smaller stones, a rock garden should be two inches deep. For gardens with larger stones, they could be as deep as eight inches.