Build a Dry Creek Bed
Add the look of water without the fuss
Linda Lamb Peters
Mixing pebbles and boulders suggests the presence of water
You don’t need water to suggest its presence in the garden. Just build a dry creek bed that looks as though a rushing stream deposited the stones and settled them in. The bed we saw took two people only four hours (including shopping time) to complete, and cost under $300. It measures 17 feet long and widens from 1 foot to 5 feet; it’s 1 inch deep at the sides and 3 inches at center.
To build one like it, you’ll need 1 roll of landscape fabric; 6 boulders ranging from 1 to 2 feet across; gray cobblestones (about 4 cubic feet each of three sizes, 1 to 3 inches in diameter); and about a quarter ton of 1/2-inch gray-toned and sand-colored pebbles.
DESIGN: Gay Bonorden Gray, Mountain View, CA (650/969-9523)
