It's a labor intensive job, and it really helps if you are good at jigsaw puzzles. You also don't want to be dealing with rocks that are too heavy because they will be moved around a lot. How I do it, is to dig out maybe six inches. On average, the stone is about 2 - 4 inches thick. I then pour in a base of maybe two inches of stone dust. Now the fun starts. I have a rough idea of how the stone will fit together. It's stuff I dug up in the backyard, and is probably best described as poor quality bluestone. It's very irregular. A couple of stone go together, with level adjustments until it's reasonably good. Some of the adjustment is from adding more stone dust, some is from digging deeper into the soil. It usually takes a couple of tries to get it right. A particularly nasty rock might have to be replaced more than half a dozen times. In heavy soil, is a cold climate, this has produced fairly durable paths. The oldest is about 5 years old, and hasn't moved at all. BTW, this isn't at all how you do cut stone.

I did the mid-size and find it fine to walk on. The larger ones look nice but probably not so easy.

Greenlydia, you can work with round rocks if you stack the second layer in further than the first, and to the extent that the rocks lean, make sure they lean into the side of the bed. In effect you are not stacking the rocks on each other, but rather embedding them into the side of the bed. I personally hate the idea of glueing and mortaring rocks together as I am prone to changing my mind about things, and the rocks can always be used for a different application if they are merely propped in place, but if they have mortar all over them they are hard to dismantle, and hard to reuse. Quite aside from which, the mortar doesn't actually make the thing any stronger. It just provides a false sense of security so that most people who use it are less careful about placing rocks so that their weight holds them in place. Both types of retaining can fail, of course, but if an unmortared rock rolls out of place... well, you roll it back, or maybe you repack the section where it came from. If a mortared rock breaks out of place, well, there goes the weekend fixing that. Regarding water, my own strategy with beds surrounded by rock retaining walls is to keep the soil level in them flat, not mounded, because I don't want water running down between/inside the rocks taking away the soil that supports them. I want the water soaking in where it lands.

Hi Cheri, You aren't nuts, but this will take some care. Ocean and river stones can have deposits which will inhibit the mortar's bond. The most obvious culprit with ocean stones is sea salt and organic matter, but there are oils and waxes that also get into the mix, sadly enough. ALL of your pebbles will need to be washed aggressively!! I'd use a solution of Tri-sodium Phopsphate (hardware-grade TSP) in a wheelbarrow and REALLY stir those rocks up. Use a garden hoe or some other long-handled "mixer" to churn the stones so that they rub against each other. Not only is the TSP working to remove "bases" from the surface and pores of the stones, but the abrasions of all the stones against each other will expose fresh surface area too. Be rough! :^) With all of that done, then rinse the stones very very well and then let them dry. If they dry chalky, churn them again in just plain water until the TSP is completely washed off. Then you can start setting them. Remember that you should wear protective clothing and equipment when working with TSP. It's caustic and will irritate your skin and can damage your eyes! Gloves, long sleeves, and eye protection are a must! Best of luck, Shaughnn