Tips for creating a dry stream in the country with your own hands
The presence on the plot of any artificial reservoir creates a special atmosphere of harmony. But to equip even a small fountain, stream or pond is a very troublesome and, no doubt, costly business. So how to be? Do not despair, the solution was found a long time ago by the Japanese, who came up with a very interesting element of people for their stone gardens.
Now a dry stream in landscape design is becoming simply an indispensable lifesaver. Do you want to know why? Let's figure it out.
A dry stream is such an unusual type of flower garden. It is based on an imitation of a dried-up river bed or even a small pond. And this dried-up channel is beautifully emphasized by various ornamental plants planted near it. This is a very interesting element of landscape design. Looking at a properly created dry stream, the illusion arises that as soon as it rains, water will murmur merrily in the stream.
A dry stream comes to the rescue when it is not possible to place a real reservoir on the site. In addition, it has a number of undeniable advantages:
- It is quite simple and economical to create. You can do it yourself, with your own hands, without resorting to the services of specialists. Materials for its arrangement are inexpensive and available.
- Unlike a real pond, a dry one is very easy to care for. You will not need to worry about cleaning the bottom, changing the water. Also, you do not have to suffer from mosquitoes and unpleasant odors.
- It is absolutely safe. Children will not slip on wet stones.
- You can decorate such a reservoir with any plants, you do not need to limit yourself to growing only near the water.
- If in the future you decide to re-plan the site, then the dry stream is easy to dismantle.
- In addition to exceptional beauty and originality, a dry stream also has practical benefits. It will help to hide irregularities and other defects of the site, decorate various communications, and divide the site into functional zones. It can be used as a drain for storm water.
See how uniquely beautiful and original dry streams look in landscape design in the photo.
Isn't it amazing? I don't think anyone will be indifferent. Would you like to create such a wonderful miracle in your area? Our tips and step-by-step recommendations will help you cope with this task.
Choose a place and form
First we choose a place. This will determine the size and shape of our stream. There are a few important details to note here.
The stream must have a beginning and an end (source and mouth). It can “leak out” from some kind of vessel (an inverted amphora, a garden vase) or from under a large decorative stone. From large stones, you can lay out a semblance of a well. Or maybe it will be a mountain stream, and it will originate from an alpine hill. And the channel can end with an imitation of a dried-up small pond or a small shrub composition.
This is not a garden path, the stream does not have to be perfectly flat. Bends and irregularities should be present here (especially if they already exist on the site). By changing the width of the channel along the length of the stream, you can achieve a greater effect of naturalness.
Please note that a moderately winding and narrow stream will visually enlarge and make even a small area voluminous. Well, if the area of your site is large, then here you can create a dry stream of any kind and shape.
Let's define the main types of dry streams. Single winding channel - suitable for a site of any size. On a large area, a branched channel with several narrow streams can be located. It is appropriate to make sand jets up to twenty centimeters wide. On a site with uneven terrain, you can equip a dry waterfall. A stone stream will “run down” from the top of the hill. Cascading ledges made of large rocky stones will look very beautiful in such a waterfall.
Do not be too lazy to draw on paper a diagram of the future stream and its decor. It is even better if the plants and architectural forms already on the site are drawn there. With a little more time, you can minimize or even avoid errors in your work.
We select stones
You have decided on the place and type of the dry stream, now we are preparing the materials. We will need covering material, various stones and, of course, plants.
The basis of any type of dry stream is stones, so you need to be very careful about their selection.
To decorate and secure the banks of our stream, large rough stones will be needed. And to create the flow itself, you need a smaller material (pebbles, crushed stone). In order for a dry stream to organically fit into an existing garden style, it is advisable to use stones already involved in home decoration or site design in its creation. For greater naturalness, some designers recommend using natural material from your particular area.
If your goal is to create the most natural imitation of a dry riverbed, then the emphasis should be on stones in gray-blue colors: slate, pebbles, gneiss, basalt. Light shades will provide limestone, white marble and granite. Granite will allow you to get more greenish and brown tones.
A very beautiful illusion of a fast flow is created by a flat pebble laid vertically or with a slight layering. Here it is important to shift the stones relative to each other, creating the effect of movement. It is necessary to place them tightly together and securely fasten them.
Colored marble chips and sand will help to create an imitation of water. Soft pastel colors will do. You can make a simple pattern of two or three shades or use only one tone.
Large beautiful boulders, located singly or in small groups in the middle of the stream, will imitate backwaters.
From large flat stones, you can make cascading steps at the waterfall.
The effect of water shine will give the use of glass beads or granules of various colors. Transparent or blue-green balls will provide the perfect natural shine, while bright yellow-orange balls will add mystery.
How a dry stream will turn out depends entirely on your choice, determined by your imagination and preferences. However, it is better not to get carried away and stick to a sense of proportion.
Create a dry stream
The preparatory stages are over, now we are starting to create a dry stream.
At the chosen place, we carefully remove the weeds and mark the channel with sand or a rope with pegs. In the process of work, it will be possible to make changes to the created project, since the markup will already show how the stream will turn out. When you like the result, following the markup, we tear out a groove, the dimensions of which will depend on the size of the stones you have chosen.
The approximate depth used is from ten to thirty centimeters. Then we thoroughly compact the soil in the groove, and lay geotextiles on top to protect against weed germination (we completely capture the bottom and slopes). From above we pour a small layer of sand (up to 5 cm). Preparation is over. Let's start laying stones.
The edges of the stream are formed first with large and medium stones. Then we make out the bottom according to the chosen option. If the stones are not stacked tightly together, then fill the gaps with fine stone chips or sand. Lastly, large stones are laid out to decorate the middle of the stream.
The basis of our composition is ready.
In Japan, the art of creating stone gardens has been developed for many centuries. It is from there that the roots of modern ...
Coastal decoration
It's time to decorate our dry stream. Let's start with the selection of plants. To do this, we must determine the illumination, humidity and composition of the soil in the places of their planting. Since these factors can change throughout the course, it is best to select plants that are relatively unpretentious and undemanding.
As in a stone garden or rockery, so in our composition, stones play the first violin. Therefore, plants should serve as decoration for a dry stream, and not overshadow it. Avoid frivolity. Choose flowers in bluish tones, they will perfectly set off the channel. For example, spring accents will be placed by Armenian Muscari Skay Blue (Muscari armeniacum), golden Blue Bonnet crocus (Crocus chrysanthus), hybrid bergenia Rotblum (Vergenia x hybrida). In summer, the Poskharsky bellflower (Campanula poscharskyana), large speedwell (Veronica teucrium), Siberian iris (Iris sibirica) will provide the color scheme.
Crocus golden Blue Bonnet
Veronica big
You can not do without ground cover plants, such as: shaving (Aubrieta x cultorum), thread-like speedwell (Veronica filiformis), creeping tenacious (Ajuga reptans), young (Sempervívum).
Constantly original and worthy to decorate our dry stream are plants with decorative foliage: Jack Frost Brunner (Brunnera macrophylla), Glitter geuchera (Heuchera), Hosta hybridum (Hosta hybridum).
It is also important to use plants that resemble the flora of real water bodies. For this, the emperor (Imperata), gray fescue (Festuca cinerea), helianthus (Helianthus salicifolius), molinia (Molinia), miscanthus (Miscantus) are suitable.
Imperata
Miscanthus
To decorate dry streams in large areas, low trees and shrubs can be used. It will look good on the shore with its weeping crown, mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) variety Pendula. Also successful will be the choice of dwarf varieties of Thunberg barberry (Berberis thunbergii), such as: Bonanza Gold, Atropurpurea Nana, Bagatelle, Kobold.
Spruce Picea abies "Nidiformis"
And for a stream in a laconic and strict garden of the English type, dwarf species of spruces (for example, Pinus mugo Gnom, Pinus mugo Mors, Picea abies Little Gem, Picea abies Nidiformis, Picea pungens Glauca Globosa), junipers (Juniperus horizontalis Blue Pygmea, J. h Wiltonii, J. h. Glauca, J. h. Hughes) and thuja (Thuja occidentalis Teddy, T. o. Globosa, T. o. Holmstrup, T. o. Hoseria), as well as euonymus (Euonymus).
Plants can be placed along the banks of the stream, in small groups or singly. You can plant them on small islands of stones or steps of a waterfall. The decor should attract the eye with expressive objects along the entire length of the channel.
When planting plants, use your imagination, but do not overload the composition, do not forget that this is a dry stream, not a mixborder.
Various garden decorative elements will serve as a good addition to the created composition. For example, sculptural figures of a heron or a frog will look appropriate near the "reservoir".
To enhance the effect of connection with water, you can build a small bridge across a dry stream. It will add originality and comfort. The bridge should be proportional to the size of your stream. It can be a simple stone slab or an arch thrown over a groove, or a cute wooden bridge, or even an exquisite little bridge with chic wrought iron railings.