ARTIFICIAL ROCK VS. REAL

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Artificial rock has huge advantages and endless applications over real rock, both structurally and aesthetically.

Mortar-less Joints

Properly sealing the cracks between real rock to prevent cracking and leaks associated with settling is a difficult and costly proposition. With artificial rock there are no unnatural mortar joints to look at and leaks are a thing of the past.

Any Size - Any Location

There are many locations where large boulders can not be placed but artificial rocks can be created anywhere and in any size.

Cliffs/ Formations

Rocks can be built into formations and cliffs of any height without the “piled rock” look required by real rocks to gain elevation.

No settling

The large “footprint” of an artificial rock eliminates the settle and squirm factor that causes waterfalls to leak and edge areas to become unstable.

Overhangs

Add an overhang above the water level and give your fish an ideal hideout from predators.

Caves

A cave in real rock would be almost impossible and financially unrealistic.

Planters

Rocks can be built hollow or in seamless formations to create ideal natural looking plant containers above and below the waters surface.

Easy to clean

Crawling around on a drained water feature made of real rock with pressure washers and other cleaning equipment can be difficult without shifting boulders and sliding gravel.

Realistic

With today’s stains color pigments and mold compounds artificial rock can be sculpted to look just like the real thing without the problems of real rock such as settling, crumbling, weight limits, size restrictions and cleaning difficulties.

PROJECT PORTFOLIO

STONE CRAFT LANDSCAPING Artificial Rock

With the capabilities of artificial rock any style is possible. to me a good water feature is not just an arranged pile of rocks with water pouring over the top but rather an impression or a representation of nature.

When I design a water feature for a client, I don’t draw accurate scale drawings with every detail precisely copied into the actual landscape. To achieve the most natural finished product you need to have the freedom to alter things as you go, to work with the land and it‘s features which may be hidden under the earth or bushes during the planning stages. I make a concept drawing which shows the style and rough appearance the finished product will represent in the same way it will represent it‘s counterpart found in nature.

The key to designing a truly great water garden is simply deciding what your favorite “piece” of nature is and then fitting it into your yard. You might be thinking, “If only I had a bigger yard. A 4’ x 4’ space could be turned into a masterpiece copy of nature. Take a look at Stone Craft's latest fountain, A lot of landscape in a little space or click on this link and have a look at some even smaller spaces than that. http://www.manlungpenjing.org/eng-gallery-frame.html

Let’s just assume your yard is a little bigger than that though. First of all choose the location you want on the earth because this will drastically change the look of the pieces of nature you like. There’s the huge leafed jungles of the tropics or the sparse dry deserts of California. The rugged mountains of the Cascades or the or the dense thickets of the Olympic Peninsula.

Now for the pieces~

Imagine a mountain hillside in the summer, dense with highland ground covers and colorful wild flowers. Rocks show off their rugged beauty where the spring floods washed them clean before narrowing into a small mountain stream which now cascades down through it all stopping occasionally for a rest in small bubbling pools. Small clusters of alpine fir stand with their backs to the wind, holding at their base clumps of mountainous shrubs towards the path of the sun.

Or, a ravine carved out of layers of sediment rock with vertical cliffs on each side and bonsai growing out of crevices and ledges. Deep pools between cascading falls throughout the bottom with pockets of flowering rock plants scattered about and dense azaleas lining the upper banks with vine maple reaching for the open space of the canyon.

Or, the edge of a deep slow moving river where the path of least resistance has slowly carved through solid rock. Rock formations taper like miniature mountain ranges from high on the banks down into the waters edge surfacing again off shore like islands in the sea.

If you only have a small space dedicated for your water feature; How about a rock face in the under-story of a northwest forest with trailing plats hanging down from crevices in the cliff mimicking the fall of a creak spilling over the top and splashing into a deep pool carved out by the hydraulics of the water over time. Lush vegetation of different textures and color reach toward the sky on slender stems competing for sunlight and green mosses flourish in the shade beneath moistened by the mist of falling water.

Create a piece of nature, a framed picture of a scene, Like an exhibit in a Zoo only the wildlife within comes and goes and changes with the seasons unconfined by boundaries and walls.

By Aaron Jones (c)

PROJECT PORTFOLIO

WATER FEATURE DESIGNS

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Created by Aaron Lynn Jones of STONE CRAFT, Port Angeles WA. © 2004 - 2012

STONE CRAFT * Port Angeles * WA. * 98362 *

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