Garden stones often serve a practical purpose. When spaced properly, they help gardeners tiptoe through their tulips without compressing soil or upsetting plants. But garden stones can be so much more than just useful.
Done well, garden stones can represent your own individual flare and add a touch of interest or intrigue to your landscape. They can even make for a full blown conversation piece. To help get those creative juices flowing in you, we’ve cast around the web to come up with some garden stone treasures to inspire your garden stone artistry:
1. Leaf Cast Stepping Stones
Leaf casting lets you make the most of what’s growing in your garden. Simply choose a favorite leaf, and make a permanent impression of it. Imprint the leaf or several leaves into cement. Mix a small amount of concrete, pour it into a mold, and flip the mold over your leaf sprayed with oil. Leave the mold pressing over the leaf for a day or so. Flip it back over, peel off the leaf, and you have a fitting piece of art that reflects the nature in your garden. For more ideas, check out the video below or these instructions for DIY leafy garden stepping stones.
2. Broken China Garden Stones
Recycling is rewarding. And recycling pieces of broken china can be especially so. China is a colorful, beautiful, and even sentimental resource for decorating garden stones. Hunt for chipped and well used china at thrift stores. Or preserve your own broken and chipped china like this blogger did in these broken china stepping stones.
3. Free Form Garden Stones
The sky is the limit when creating garden stones. If you can think it, you can do it. Shapes and colors are unlimited when you decide go free form. For example, try an old cake pan for a form, and fill it with concrete. Tuck and arrange any treasure you’d like to display into the concrete. Allow it to set, and you’ve created a keepsake piece for you to admire in your garden. And don’t stop with just a cake pan as a mold. Here’s a jackpot of ideas for free form garden stones.
4. Pebble and Collage Garden Stones
The materials you can rummage up for creating a mosaic themed garden stone are endless. China, glass shards, marbles, and buttons are colorful and happy. But you don’t have to look too far or wide to forge a masterpiece. Even the simplest elements, like pebbles, can be stunning. Arrange pebbles in a spiraling pattern. Or group them according to size, color shade, or texture. You can set them in concrete or not. To be totally inspired check out these pebble garden stones.
5. Personalized Garden Stones
Who doesn’t want to leave their mark on the world? Garden stones that are stamped with handprints, footprints, or even paw prints are a timeless classic. Enjoy these sweet imprints in your garden every day, and meanwhile, watch the sentimental value grow and grow.
6. Doily Garden Stones
There’s something alluring about lace, and this garden stone idea indulges just a touch of it. Place a doily over a garden or stepping stone, and spray paint over it. When you remove the doily, the design of the doily is captured on the stone. A Victorian or cottage garden must-have! For a step by step guide to designing your very own, check out these glow in the dark lace stepping stones.
7. Painted Garden Stones
A surefire way to add colorful character to your garden is to paint garden stones with something that you love. Let painted ladybug and other insect garden stones lead your way through your landscape. Or try glow in the dark paint for a clever, luminous surprise at night. Use a stencil for a more careful design, or go for all out fun with this hopscotch garden stone game. Painted garden stones will no doubt enchant the young and inspire the young at heart.
If you’ve got an awesome garden stone decorating idea, we’d love to hear from you!
Creative Commons Flickr photo courtesy of jasleen_kaur
I like the broken china stepping stones. That’s a great idea for recycling some old plates that you could find second-hand somewhere! I want to put some stepping stones in my backyard that lead to a garden. I want to get a bunch though, so making them would be difficult. Do you have any recommendations as to where I could buy stepping stones for cheap?