Landscaping a residence is like grooming your home. It makes your home aesthetically pleasing and personal place for you and your family to relax. It is much more than adding lots of flowers and shrubs. Steps, terracing, patio decking, fences, brickwork, lightning and sleepers are some of the value added landscape features. Natural stone remain the most desired choice of materials for landscaping architects worldwide. Such stones used for landscaping are called landscaping stones.

With the extensive array of landscaping stones more fulfilling ways are coming in to enhance your home's beauty. Stones like granite, limestone, marble, slate and sandstone are most widely used stones for landscaping.

• River Bed Pebbles
• Stone Circles
• Stone cobbles
• Stone steps
• Stepping Stones

River Bed Pebbles are rounded or partially rounded rock or mineral fragments between 2 and 75 mm in diameter. These are generally found along the bed of river. These are therefore called river bed pebbles. These pebbles are found running through sand deposits.

The river bed pebbles are available in an array of decorative aggregates of different colors, shapes and textures that will augment any garden or driveway. The ideal shapes of these pebbles are round, elliptical and flat. They are found in colors of off-white, gray, pink, brown, green and potato skin. They are durable, functional and require low maintenance.

Stone circles refers to circular stones that can be plain or with several different designs on it. Various patterns like circles, sun circles, etc. are usually handcrafted on the stones. Many of the suppliers offer a range of circles featuring a center stone with one, two, three or more outer rings of pre cut flags, giving a selection of different diameters.

The circles are available in various sizes and shapes and are supplied with relevant squaring off kit. The kit includes the requisite number of pieces required to form a whole circle. It also includes the odd shaped bits required to fit a circle feature into a rectangular orthogonal patio. A choice of styles and colors are available.

Stone cobbles are hand chiseled natural stones which are environmentally sound, recyclable, non-slip, everlasting and require almost no maintenance. The size of cobbles lie between a boulder and a pebble. They can be put to innumerable uses and are generally used for pavements, outhouses and pool sides.

Cobbles are widely used for decorative purposes due to its natural beauty. They can be mixed with flagstones and stepping stones as border detail or divisions between pave areas for a great decorative effect.

Stone is the most durable material for steps. Stone steps look attractive and less obtrusive than wooden steps on upland sites. These are generally used on slopes with thin soils that rapidly erode and this controls erosion. These are simple steps made by using large stones placed at intervals up a slope. These are placed with the treads formed by the natural substrate or by stone aggregate.

These are most commonly found near carparks and where access for materials is easy. Step stones are mortared for extra stability. Stones are placed with a longer spacing on gentler slopes and then the gap is pitched with smaller stones. They are used mostly for staircases but are also suitable for short steep sections.

Stepping stones are a great addition to any home's garden or backyard décor. They are commonly used in walkway areas and are available in an assortment of shapes, sizes and designs. Multitude of materials can be used as stepping stones.

Stepping stone paths are decorative and easy to install. The stones are usually available in round and square shapes. They can also be irregularly shaped.