Santa Cruz Landscaping: Boulder Placement

I have always enjoyed hiking and spending time in the woods. I love hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains, especially on less traveled trails. I have also spent time in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, and the deserts of New Mexico. I purposely seek out high rock outcroppings and large boulders when I am hiking. I love sitting next to a boulder or on top of a grouping of rocks. I am humbled by their timeless strength and peaceful presence.

In my landscape designs, I always try to incorporate artistic boulder placement in the project. Whether its a grouping of boulders in a garden, a large boulder placed in a water feature, or a stand alone boulder feature. 
I take my time in choosing each rock that I will place in the garden. I look at the features and characteristics of the boulder, and I imagine it in the garden with plant life around it. 

Cactus Garden Pathway

This is a feature we did on the West side of Santa Cruz. It was an existing cactus garden that we installed a small pathway through.

At one point in the path, we placed a large flat stone, and carried the pathway around it. The garden itself housed many 50-100 year old cactus and Agave plants. So we chose this stone to look as if it was a huge buried boulder that had been unearthed by the weather over hundreds of years. This took an eye for choosing the right rock, as well as for placing it. For the pathway, we chose a stone that is native to the Arizona dessert. It is a path stone or flagstone that is harvested from the surface. Most flagstone is harvested in sheets that are excavated from under the ground. This stone has been weathered over time and even has lichen and moss growing on it. It went well with the ancient look we were shooting for.

I also enjoy placing large boulders in a water feature. It gives the feature a more balanced and aged look. 
Having a variety of sizes of stone in a waterfall helps it to blend in and look natural. 


I still have a lot to learn about setting boulders in a landscape, I enjoy it a lot and I will keep studying and learning as I go. 
www.livingwaterslandscaping.com