The beauty and familiarity of stone

I have always loved stone walls. I grew up in the foothills of Mt. Helix where people had beautiful hand-laid rock walls like they built in the '40s-'60s. When I grew up, my Dad had built our home and our sunken living room was faced with volcanic rock in a room a vaulted ceiling and a fireplace at the bottom where we would pop popcorn in an old black metal device that you shook. It seemed much more fun that making it in a pot, and microwaves were just coming out so no one made microwave popcorn. They were fun nights to be together with the family in that room. When I lived in England, I determined that I would have a rock wall some day in my garden. I loved how the roses would spill freely over the sturdy rock walls, which reminded me of scenes from a Beatrix Potter book. This link http://www.alharris.com/gallery/dsw/index.htm goes over some history behind rock walls. It was fascinating to see how England has nearly a different type of stone in each little sub-village as I traveled there. The local materials reign, which seems to root the people in their history.

My bluestone wall on the edge of the canyon.

When we remodeled our home, I think one of my favorite parts was going out to the rock companies and looking at rocks, studying their textures, the moods they delivered, and considering what would work best in my house. I can remember my daughter who was about 2 at the time, just sifting her dirty little hands through the bins that held smaller rocks in different colored buckets the whole time I was there. She was absolutely fascinated by how the texture felt in her hands. And she begged to go back to see the stones and take more home. When it came time to pick out the stones, I decided to choose a really hard-to-get stone. Only one rock company carried it and I had to go back again and again to ensure they had the stones with the right tones of grey with orange accents, not the ones that went more pinky or more contrasty. One day, my stone mason picked up some of the materials in a North County location, and he obviously didn't keep an eye out for the particular shades I was after and ended up with rocks a whole different palette. But we worked it out by putting the ones with more contrast on the wall facing the canyon, but it did show me how much the colors mattered and how they made a different emotional impact on me.

I love my rock wall now. I think my husband understood how important it was to me. It was not the cheapest wall in the world and he never complained about it. But it creates a little sanctuary where my bunny can hide in the underbrush from the coyotes in the canyon and where I can garden.

The kids at school love stones too. Another volunteer brought some extra flagstone from her remodeling project. Ever since we laid the first stone, the kids talk about the stones. They learn the first day they work with me that, "You must walk on the stones, so you don't crush all the plants that you work so hard to grow." This marks the beginning of their love affair with the walking path. And yes, they walk on them. It's amazing to me that they will even cram into the garden back to back just to be able to walk on the stones and feel closer to nature than staying on the swatch of concrete next to the garden. When we have our garden sessions, the stones beckon them, invite them to get involved. They dust them off with small brooms and tend them with love. In fact, when I get thank you notes from the kids, they enjoy talking about the stones and drawing pictures of them. It's as if when you are small, you are more aware of the ground.

So, add some stones to your garden...You'll find they anchor it and provide an avenue to adventure.

Here are some helpful links to articles about stone selection:
http://www.oregonhomemagazine.com/trade-secrets/107-18-tips-for-buying-tile-and-stone
http://www.homeandgardenideas.com/outdoor-living/landscaping/rocks/buying-garden-stones