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Oh, don’t even ask about my pendant light. Can’t even go there today. When it’s done, know that I’ll show you. Until then I don’t even want to talk about it. What I want to talk about is faux rocks and boulders! Especially DIY faux rocks and boulders!! Until a few days ago, I didn’t even know anyone could DIY a faux rock or boulder. I mean, if I’d given it a little thought, I’d imagine there’s definitely a way to DIY something like that. But I never thought about it. But now, thanks to my mom, I can think about it. It’s all me want to think about So let me back up a bit and explain.
My mom has been working non-stop in her yard for weeks now. The back area of her yard is shaded along the back fence and her st. Augustine grass does not grow well there. Plus, her neighbor behind her did this crazy thing with the fence and they painted their building (storage building?) this ugly burnt orange color. So my mom was on the hunt for plants that would grow tall and wide enough to cover it all. Additionally, since her grass doesn’t grow well in the shade, she marked out a large area in the back along the entire width of the back fence as a planting bed (only half of which can be seen in this photo). She marked it out with a curved design using some sort of edging product, pulled the grass back up and was in the process of adding plants.
So she shares her ideas with me, but since plants and landscaping aren’t in my wheelhouse, I don’t have a vision for it. I even went to the nursery with her to buy something that would grow tall and wide to cover that view of the orange building, but beyond that, I had no input for her because I had no vision. Such a thing.
Then she sent a video and said it’s a must see video because this guy has the most beautiful planting beds and if I’m not mistaken, all the plants he used grow in our zone. This is a video from the S & K Greenhouse YouTube channel that she sent, and I agree with her. This is a must see! I learned a lot from this. And I love seeing how he plants things in clusters in his beds. But what really caught my attention was his use of rocks for planting. They are not used as bed borders. They are used as decorative rows in beds, like…
And here is another screenshot…
And here’s another view.
Do you see what I mean? I love how he uses rocks inside his planting beds.
So the two things I really liked were (1) how he planted things in groups and (2) the use of rocks in the planting beds. His advice is not to be afraid to plant plants in groups. He says he plants ten plants in a group to get the effect he likes.
I learned a lot from him, and after watching his yard tour, I felt like I had more vision for what my mom now has in the back area of her yard that has raised grass. Create a large area for plants. But the only thing we really talked about in that area was the plants. So I texted her and said, “After watching that video, I think you should add some rocks to your backyard fence area, and then find some of the low growing plants he has in clumps around the rocks. That is so beautiful! “
She responded that she wondered how much it would cost, but I had no idea. (I’ve since learned that rocks and boulders cost anywhere from $150 to $600 per ton, depending on the type of rock, size(s), etc.) Also, she didn’t think she could lift a bunch of rocks. And put them in place so that she has to rent.
And then, the next thing I know, she’s sending me videos about making your own DIY rocks and boulders! At first I thought this was a crazy idea. Honestly there are some videos that I’m not that impressed with. One guy used spray foam as a base, but didn’t try to shape it before covering it with concrete, so the end result looked like a giant gray cow patty. It’s not something I want in my yard or next to my beautiful flowers.
But then I saw the video From this guy from the YouTube channel Fox Rock Training, and oh my goodness, I was impressed!! He has many different techniques for making faux rocks and boulders, but the main one he teaches is starting with cardboard boxes as a base…
Then, he uses fiberglass reinforced concrete, some type of mesh for more reinforcement, paint, sealer, etc. and he ends up with these amazing faux rocks! Take a look at this…
If it was a real solid rock, can you even imagine how heavy it would be? I mean, it has to live forever where the landscaping company left it, because it’s too heavy for me to move around at will. But since these are hollow, they are relatively light and can be moved as needed.
Here’s one he made with a different technique, but it’s completely blank. He takes it and spins it around in the video (You can see here,
And you can see it has a hole in the top because it was actually used as a fountain…
Here is some screenshot made with cardboard box method…
And then what he shows in this screenshot is the faux rock (completely hollow inside) made to look like real rocks in the area.
Anyway, as you can probably imagine, my mind is now wandering. All I really wanted to do for the past three days was make faux rocks and boulders. I’m trying to focus on my studio and get it done, but you better believe I’ll be outside, elbow deep in concrete, making faux rocks as soon as I get the chance. I won’t be throwing away any cardboard boxes in the near future.
Addicted 2 Decorating shares my DIY and decorating journey as I renovate and decorate the 1948 Fixer Upper that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has MS and is unable to do physical activity, so I do most of the housework myself. You can learn more about me here.
