Designing a dry river bed

Designing a dry river bed (Photo by Jane Gates)

---

Related Articles

• Decorate with a bubbling pot fountain

• Backyard living 101: What is permeable paving?

• Pathways create practical beauty in the garden

• Stepping stones in the landscape

If you want to add a really striking feature to your landscape consider building a dry river bed. It can function as a space divider, a drainage conductor and an eye-catching form of decoration. Since a dry river bed should start at a logical point and end at a reasonably believable termination, think out the course of your river bed before you start on construction.

Think through how your river bed will flow naturally in your landscape. Ideally it will start at a grouping of boulders like a real rock outcrop, or maybe it will curve around so the start is out of sight. Or maybe it will come tumbling out of a think copse of plants that imply the origin is somewhere behind. Another very decorative way to start your rive bed is with a pondless waterfall. If your river bed is dug down into the ground deep enough to conduct water when there is a heavy rain or another form of run-off, you will want to make sure it ends in a location where it is safe to have the run-off drain. If drainage is not important then you might want to end your river bed in a pond or a dried pond filled with textured stones and sparse plantings.

Then keep in mind the look you want for your garden. If you have an Asian or contemporary minimalistic design, you may want the look of your river bed to be somewhat styled, formal and controlled. Try using large rounded river rock all in the same color. If you want your river bed to look realistic and natural, then you should use a variety of different kinds of rocks (three or four different types) and scatter an assortment of big, medium and small rocks, stones and even areas of gravel and sand much as nature would do in a real river bed. For a realistic look, keep in mind that nature has a random appearance and a real river bed has boulders strewn here and there. A channel carved by running water will have patches of small gravel and pockets sand might even collect in spots. Check out dry river beds near you for ideas.

Remember that in nature most river beds curve and meander. Often there is a reason for the curve like a dip in the landscape, a thick group of plants or a boulder. Certain plants, like ornamental grasses look particularly good around water features so they will blend in nicely in a dry river bed. The vertical growth of these grasses is effective in softening the hard edges of large rocks and boulders. If you want your landscape to blend into open land that surrounds your yard, use rocks and stones that are collected locally or look as though they were.

Designing a dry river bed can be a lot of fun. It can make your landscape into a work of art and even add a functional aspect. Build your dry river bed so it looks right with your home and the rest of the garden style. You can use it as a natural edging to a garden planter, a separation of different areas in the landscape, a decorative form of a French drain, or a design element to break up a flat area of lawn or other material. However you use it, a dry river bed is sure to make your property stand out from the ordinary.