How to Build Rock Planters With Native Rocks

Rock planters are an attractive and natural way to landscape your yard. You can use rocks native to your area by collecting them from around your yard. An alternative is to purchase native rocks at a local stone yard. Using native rocks will help the planters blend in with the landscape in a more natural way. Rock planters can be as simple as a border around a slightly raised bed, or the stones can be stacked higher for larger planters. Rocks can be stacked without mortar and will last for generations if built with care.

Things You'll Need

• Landscaping spray paint
• Shovel
• Gravel
• Tamper
• Native rocks
• Garden soil
• Bow rake

Instructions

1. Mark the desired dimensions of the planter onto the ground with landscaping spray paint. Spray the outside perimeter and the inside perimeter of the planter. It can be round, square, rectangular or any other shape that you desire.

2. Dig out the marked off area down to a depth of at least 4 inches using a shovel. Fill in a 2-inch layer of gravel in the dug out area.

3. Tamp down the gravel using a hand tamper. Strike the gravel with the plate of the tamper in an even up-and-down motion to make it firm and level.

4. Separate the rocks into large, medium and small. Lay the largest rocks end to end on the gravel to form the base layer of the planter.

5. Stack additional layers on top of the base layer. Stagger the joints above and below the rocks so that the wall will be strong. Work your way up from larger to smaller rocks. Once you are satisfied with the overall height and appearance of the planter, cap the top edges off with small flat rocks.

6. Fill the inside of the planter with garden soil. Rake over the surface of the soil with a bow rake to smooth it out.

Tips & Warnings

• Plant a mixture of perennials and annuals in the planter so that you will have some plants that come back and you will still have the ability to add new varieties of annuals on a yearly basis.

• Wear work gloves when making rock planters.

References

• Ron Hazelton's House Calls: How to Build a Rock Wall Planter
• The Gardener's Rake: Garden Planning, Build a Rockwall Planter