Enhance Your Garden Journey With Natural Stone Steps
Consider these 13 ideas for natural stone steps that will help you slow down and enjoy your surroundings
In contrast to engineered paving materials, which are generally smooth and uniform, natural stones often have irregular surfaces and rough, uneven edges. Using them as steps in the garden can be an intentional way to slow travel from one elevation to the next, turning the path into a journey. Natural stone steps complement many styles of gardens, from ferny woodland glens to arid desert hillsides. We’ve selected 13 gardens that use different types of stones steps as inspiring garden transitions.
1. Woodland steps. Steps made of thick slabs of salvaged granite look right at home in this hillside blanketed in lush eastern hayscented ferns (Dennstaedtia punctilobula, USDA zones 3 to 8; find your zone). This property on Maine’s Mount Desert Island borders Arcadia National Park, and the designer used a combination of native ferns, shrubs and ground covers to act as a seamless transition to the surrounding forest. To add stability to the stairs, each slab of weathered granite was dry-laid on a compacted crushed-stone base.
2. Oversize slabs and boulders. Faced with a steep slope on either side of this front yard path in Seattle, landscape designer Scot Eckley used chunky granite boulders to retain soil, and then employed granite slabs for steps to the front door. To soften the entry, he planted lavender (Lavandula sp.) at the base of the steps, and woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus, zones 5 to 8) and ‘Red Carpet’ stonecrop (Sedum spurium ‘Red Carpet’, zones 3 to 8) to grow between the cracks of stone. A clump of perennial black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta, zones 3 to 9) adds a hit of gold from late summer through fall.
3. Leafy edges. In New Canaan, Connecticut, a stairway made of fieldstone slabs connects the side yard to the backyard lawn. The natural stone steps encourage one to slow down and appreciate the lush cascade of bold-leaved hostas, delicate ferns and clipped boxwoods that bank the stairway.
4. Buried boulders. Landscape designer Gabriel Frank turns to natural stone both for its beauty and its ability to withstand high traffic and exposure to the elements. “It’s hard to beat the durability,” he says. In this garden in San Luis Obispo, California, Frank used sturdy boulders — with the flattest side exposed — to act as steps to the garden’s upper level. The partially buried boulders appear as if they were naturally a part of the coastal hillside.
5. Cool-toned basalt. In this serene Seattle garden, a large urn provides a striking focal point at the top of basalt stone stairs. The rich basalt stone, from British Columbia, Canada, complements the color palette of the surrounding foliage of blue-green, silver and chartreuse.
6. Planted rock garden. A pathway of Columbia granite slabs bordered by chunky Columbia granite boulders curves down a slope from the front of this home on Washington’s Bainbridge Island to the street. Designer Tish Treherne softened the expanse of gray stone with a mix of low-water Mediterranean perennials and ground covers. Clumps of lavender and tangerine-colored sun rose (Helianthemum nummularium ‘Cheviot’, zones 5 to 8) billow over the tops of the boulders, while woolly thyme fills in the cracks between the stairs.
7. Recycled granite curbs. The stairway in front of this house in Newton, Massachusetts, is made from reclaimed granite slabs that were once used as the curbs for city streets. Turning to recycled materials has a lighter environmental impact and gives old stones new life in the landscape. A lush mix of hydrangea, hosta, catmint and ‘Autumn Joy’ stonecrop (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, zones 3 to 10) adds softness to the slope.
8. Fairy steps. Pillars of cut black basalt that are sunk into the hillside form an unusual stairway from one garden level to the next amid a lush carpet of baby’s tears (Soleirolia soleirolii, zones 9 to 11) and woodland ferns. The stairway design could work well in a romantic woodland retreat, an Asian-inspired garden or as part of a contemporary garden.
9. Leftover pieces. The pathway connecting this home in Santa Barbara, California, to an adjacent studio could easily been left without any steps as a gradual slope. However, landscape designer Margie Grace made use of a handful of uneven stone slabs that were left over from cutting stone for the front walkway. Laid horizontally across the pathway, the caramel-colored stones curb the slope and create a transition from the house to the studio.
Note: Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima), shown here, is identified as a highly invasive species in California and Oregon. It reseeds and may need to be removed from places you don’t want it to spread.
Note: Mexican feather grass (Nassella tenuissima), shown here, is identified as a highly invasive species in California and Oregon. It reseeds and may need to be removed from places you don’t want it to spread.
10. Steel and stone. Although raw-edge stone steps are more commonly used in naturalistic landscapes, they can also work well in juxtaposition to modern design. In this Michigan backyard, rough granite steps form a pathway between contemporary retaining walls made of Cor-Ten steel. As the steel is exposed to moisture, its surface forms a rusty patina that picks up the flecks of warm brown in the gray granite.
11. Local materials. Using stones that are native to the region gives a garden a sense of place. In this lake-side garden outside Toronto, the designer used a type of local limestone called Armour Stone quarried nearby in Southern Ontario, Canada. The warm tones of limestone typical to the surrounding mountains look right at home in the landscape.
12. Warm desert tones. Slabs of sandy-colored Sydney Peakstone form wide steps on a slope from a fire pit to an upper garden level. The stone’s warm caramel and dusty colors relate to the surrounding landscape planted with low-water ornamental grasses, agaves and perennials. The slabs were selected to each be about 6 to 7 inches tall, a typical height for steps.
13. Weathered treads. Mossy steppingstones form an understated stairway up a wild slope. Allowing steps to weather in place — collecting moss, lichen and small plants to grow between them — makes stairways look more like a natural part of a landscape than a man-made addition. To keep steps from getting slippery, scrub the areas where your foot lands on the tread with a rough brush.
More
How to Design Garden Paths That Bring a Landscape to Life
How to Use Local Stone in Your Landscape Design
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More
How to Design Garden Paths That Bring a Landscape to Life
How to Use Local Stone in Your Landscape Design
How to Design a Great Garden on a Sloped Lot