Build a Rock Stream in Your Yard for Beauty & Weed Control

Landscaping using river rocks was our answer to adding a low-maintenance accent to our front lawn and controlling the growth of weeds in our flower bed.

We have agapanthus in our front flower bed and to slow down the growth of weeds among the flowers we needed to create a border between the plants and the grass.

We designed a "stream" using quick setting concrete as the river bed and rocks to create the "flow." We made it a family project giving our one teen the chance to draft the flow on paper while he and the others worked to dig up the existing grass.

We shoveled a section 2 feet wide and 40 feet long. We kept it shallow, not digging down more than 3 inches to 5 inches.

Since grass roots can grow underneath the border, we used plastic stripping bought from Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) and placed it 4 inches below the surface on both sides of the concrete bed.

Then we laid chicken wire on the dirt path we shoveled and poured our concrete about 3 feet at a time. We used a simple trowel to smooth the surface.

Then I drove off to the canyon nearby where river rock forms and washes into Pasadena from the surrounding mountains. Certainly, we could have bought the rocks from a nursery or landscaping supply yard. The cost, though, would have ranged from $600 to nearly $1,000. I chose to get a workout and save the cash.

This particular stream is mostly dry. I parked on the street and then, carrying an empty backpack, I looked for rocks that were mostly flat and round. They ranged from a few inches in length up to a foot.

Since we weren't in a hurry to fill the rock stream, I packed in and out about 2 times a day on the weekends and usually once or twice during the week. It was a great workout.

Then I took the rocks back and dumped them onto the concrete. We looked for rocks of slightly different colors. We also drove to places where rivers were washing over rocks and that gave the stones a slightly smoother appearance and slightly purple color.

We also have two fruit trees at the edge of the rock stream: a peach tree and Asian pear tree. We dug rounded borders at the base of the trees and protected them with the plastic stripping.

It's been almost two years since we finished the rock stream and we succeeded in preventing the grass from growing unchecked in our flower bed. We recently pulled out all the rocks, trimmed back grass on both sides and pulled out the small weeds that were forming through the concrete. I sprayed the surface with Round Up and then we put the rocks back. It took us about 3 hours to perform this maintenance task.

3 hours of weeding over a two-year period is a ratio I'll settle for.