Dry creek — 75 photos of stylish garden decoration ideas with your own hands

Quite recently, oriental ideas have been used for landscape design, and gradually they appeared on our suburban plots near country mansions. We are talking about a dry stream – this is an element for decorating your own earthen area.

Nowadays, the garden landscape is demanding and more and more people are trying to keep up with fashion. Therefore, the imitation of a dried-up stream with flowers and pebbles did not stay aside.

Summary of the article:

Japanese residents create a spirit of solitude in their gardens. Such an atmosphere calmly affects the general condition and does not irritate at all. But our people are not used to the laws of the East, we cannot see the source of appeasement in our native places.

Of course, the comparisons are incorrect, but nothing can be done. Most summer residents are happy to use Japanese ideas. For example, a dry stream, at first glance nothing complicated – pick a place, dig a recess, fill it with pebbles, and plant plants on the banks.

But keep in mind, without skills and planning, you will get an unnecessary and not beautiful element in the garden. Let's analyze all the stages of creating a dry stream with our own hands.

Choose exactly the right place

Study the countryside to the smallest detail. There will definitely be flaws that should be masked, a visual rocky channel will help in this. A dry stream in the garden will not only decorate a small plot, but visually enlarge it, dividing functional zones among themselves.

The first and important step

At the initial stage, you need to draw the borders of the scenery. Draw contours with sand — pencils will not be useful. Remember, the steeper and unnaturally you create a stream, the more natural the stream will look. Place the beginning on a hill.

Channel depth

Here, focus on the width of 1: 0.5 if it is 1.5 m, then the depth is 0.75 cm. in the case when the width is 1 m, the depth is 0.5 cm. In our article you can find a photo of a dry stream. They show more detailed steps that should be performed correctly in order to achieve the best result.

The digging moment

Feel free to dig, just remember right away that the walls of the recess should be at an angle of no more than 50 degrees. During digging, throw out the weeds, preferably together with the roots.

Drainage of a "dried up" reservoir

Concrete, of course, will not do. In our case, everything is much simpler, buy any dense material in a hardware store, for example, polymer film or roofing material.

Laying out the bottom

Pour a layer of crushed stone or expanded clay, about 7 cm. and sprinkle with sand. And now everything interesting begins — we begin to lay out the stones.

Pebbles, cobblestones, stones...

The sizes of the material will suit different, both small and large, already turn on your imagination here. Large, medium–sized stones, small pebbles in a grayish - blue shade.

Creating a design of a dry stream, you can make the effect of water by painting the pebbles with varnish or special blue or azure paint, which flickers in the dark.

Pond with a bridge

Only natural wood is suitable for the construction of a bridge over a stream. If there is an unused log in the yard, that's what you need.

If you don't like this option, you can make a ferry with your own hands. Or you can leave it as it is and spread the stones on the surface.

Aquatic coastal plants

The main thing is not to overdo it with decorative elements, otherwise you will get a flowerbed. Take into account the composition of the soil, the supply of natural light and humidity indicators. Use herbaceous groundcover varieties for planting.

If you want the plants to bloom, pick them up in a blue, purple tone. Bluebells, iris, lobelia, phlox, periwinkle, lily of the valley, all kinds of creeping grasses and many others look good near the stream. When designing a dry stream, you will need grasses, bamboo and reeds.

Create wild thickets on the shore with the help of the previously listed plants. Their juicy, long bright green leaves will cope with the task by 100%.

If you plan to have a large pond with needles, then plant a dwarf juniper, small pines, spruce and fir on the rocky shore. These plants take root perfectly on the soil of sand.

Carefully choose low-growing bushes. Do not create unnecessary problems for yourself, because in autumn the shrubs shed their leaves, and you have to collect them without unbending, they get stuck in the stones, and then you can not do without a garden vacuum cleaner. If such a miracle technique is available on the farm, then feel free to plant dogwood and barberry. They will delight with the beauty of several seasons, attracting the eyes of the surrounding people. One-year-olds such as: lily, narcissus, tulip, hyacinth are considered special.

Landscaping and dry creek

Do not forget that by following the rules and stages of creating a "dried-up riverbed", you will turn a summer cottage into a paradise with your own hands. Do not be afraid to take care of the brook, it will not be difficult, but even interesting – this is so for the future.

Of course, plants will have to be weeded and watered, insects need to be destroyed in the stones and under them. But if you are a responsible and careful gardener, then there will be no problems. Just do everything regularly and don't leave the brook unattended.

It is important — a spectacular pond serves not only for decoration, it is able to perform some more tasks:

with its help, storm water will drain smoothly;
due to the retention of moisture under stones and pebbles, plants do not have to be watered often;
a dry stream in landscape design will become the boundary between the zones in the garden;
the soil will not be vulnerable and will not succumb to erosion;
the garden will visually acquire large dimensions.

Instead of small stones, flowering plants can be used. That's just a beautiful stream will be during flowering.

The right stream for landscaping will create a unique view in the garden, as if it had recently dried up and there was water in it. And immediately after the rain, your creation will heal again and sparkle with the reflections of the sun's rays.

Feel free to use your imagination, read the advice of specialists and get to work. Carefully study all the stages of creating a stream, purchase the necessary materials and plants. Hurry up, because the warm summer days pass quickly.