What decorating techniques are not used by designers to transform ordinary household plots into fabulous corners for a good rest. Dry Stream is one of the most popular modern landscape design tools in which there is not a single drop of water, but only stones imitating the bed of a dried-up stream. The main advantage of this "spicy" design element is that deciding to create a dry stream with your own hands on the garden plot, the embodiment of the idea does not require significant material costs.
The ubiquitous decorating element originates from sunny Japan. In the land of the rising sun, the element of water is associated with purity and thirst for life, and murmur is a symbol of the transience of time. Dry streams, which are very popular in Japanese gardens, are necessarily present in areas where water for some reason cannot be used as an element of landscape design. A dry stream in the garden, as an imitation of this element, allows you to create the impression that the water in the channel of the spring has only dried up, and the first drops of rain will fill it again with life-giving moisture.
A dry stream will be the best solution for sites of any garden style
The advantages of a dry stream over a water
Some of the main advantages of this element of landscape design include:
- The ability to create a dry stream with your own hands, without making much effort and significant financial costs.
- The speed of construction: the choice of location, designation of the channel of the stream and filling it with stones takes only two to three days.
- Ease of care, which is limited only by maintaining the shape of the channel and removing weeds. At the same time, caring for a water stream involves timely cleaning of lime deposits and algae.
- Making plants a dry stream is not limited to anything. While for planting in a natural reservoir, the choice is limited only to hygrophilous flowers and plants.
- Safe for small children. In addition, in dry streams, unlike natural reservoirs, mosquitoes do not occur, causing so much inconvenience for a good rest.
For the channel of the dry stream does not require the purchase of expensive compressors, water supply and purification systems, which are a necessary attribute of the arrangement of natural reservoirs.
A dry stream will be the best solution for sites of any garden style
We select the shape of the structure and prepare stones
Proper planning of the placement of the channel of a dry stream in the country will veil the flaws of the terrain. A narrow winding streamlet visually deepens the space, making the visually small garden somewhat larger.
The device of a dry stream is a fascinating and easy-to-use lesson that allows you to realize ideas on your site to create an original decoration that emphasizes the sophistication of landscape design.
The contours of the stone stream are "drawn" based on the features of the forms and landscape of the garden area. The contour, drawn by sand, will allow you to pre-determine the shape of the future structure and its harmonious combination with existing decor elements. The shape can easily be corrected by “writing” new contours with a thin line of sand, choosing the best option that fits perfectly into the terrain. Having decided on the shape and size of the stone structure, you can proceed to the choice of the nature of the material and its quantity.
One of the secrets that reveal how to make a dry stream that simulates the flow of water is the elimination of clear boundaries and the heterogeneity of the structure
It looks more beautiful and natural in a dry stream in an area that does not have the same width in the course of simulating the flow
Both large cobblestones and small pebbles are suitable for decorating the brook. The combination of stones of various sizes, colors and textures allows you to create spectacular compositions that will become a vivid addition to any area of landscape design. You can get a stream of gray-blue hue by applying slate, basalt and gneiss.
Reddish-brown hues are acquired by ponds made of granite, marble and limestone. Pebbles painted with waterproof paint, which gives light light in the dark, can become a spectacular decoration for a brook. No less original look stones opened with a layer of varnish. Stones playing with tints in the sunlight give the compositions a "wet" effect.
The illusion of the flow of water can be easily obtained by adding a composition of stones in bulk with glass granules or balls
In order to harmoniously combine the stone stream with the natural landscape of the area, it is advisable to use local rocks in the arrangement of the structure. To create the effect of the current, flat pebble stones are suitable, for the coastline - larger stone blocks. Rough terrain is successfully decorated with waterfalls made of stones of lighter shades.
Stacking stones along a prepared contour
Choosing a place and determining the contours of the structure and materials of the composition, you can begin construction. A “trough” is dug out along the contour marked with sand: a layer of earth is removed with a depth of 15-30 cm. The surface of the "pit" is leveled by a rake. In order to avoid the growth of weeds, which can ruin the beauty of a dry stream, the bottom should be covered with dark non-woven covering material that allows moisture and air to pass through, for example: geotextiles or lutrasil. An alternative can also be a thin layer of concrete or a polymer film. Aligned and strewn surface can now be decorated with stones.
The main requirement for the design of the stone composition is conciseness and moderation
Laying a stone pond begins with the "coast". Booth and cobblestones are used to back up the inner edges, bare is used to lay crevices, the bed of the stone reservoir itself is covered with small pebbles.
Making a stone pond with plants
A mandatory element in the design of a stone stream are plants. A dry stream of flowers allows you to get the maximum effect of the similarity of a stone structure with a real pond.
Choosing plants to decorate the "banks" of a stone stream, you can use any shrubby, decorative leaf and flowering plants. The main requirement is that the flower arrangement should be harmoniously combined. When selecting plants, the illuminance of the site, soil composition, humidity and temperature conditions are also taken into account. When designing the bed of a stone stream itself, it is advisable to use plants that really grow in water.
Against the background of small pebbles, plants whose color is associated with water elements look spectacular, for example: forget-me-not large-leaved or tenacious creeping
Plants of blue-green shades with long leaves are also associated with water spaces. A spectacular decoration of a stone stream will be plants whose flowers are painted in rich shades of blue. Among the beautifully flowering all kinds of shades of blue beauties for the design of the pond fit: lobelia, obrietta, blue fescue, tenacious creeping, iris bearded, bruner large-leaved.
A good addition to the composition can be Chinese cane, pampas grass, loosestrife, hosta, daylily, sedge plantain.
When planning a stone pond at your site, you can use this design option by plants: 1 - bamboo leaf-grate, 2 - varieties of bearded iris, 3 - lobelia, 4 - creeper tenacious, 5 - Poskharsky bell, 6 - hybrid shaving forms, 7 - large-leaf bruner 8 - bryozoan schilolista, 9 - tenacious creeper red-leafed, 10 - reed arundo
Creating a dry stream in the country for the harmony of the composition, it is desirable to use more natural elements. A decorative wooden bridge looks very impressive against a stream.
