ART-Rockin the Garden!

Adele Kurtz
by Adele Kurtz
My hubby Rich has been stuffing rocks in his pockets since he was a kid, creating a constant stony challenge first to his mother -- now me. As he has grown, so have the size of this rocks. Leaving me with pretty piles indoors and out, literally tons to work with, considering his 60+ years of collecting.
Now he's got me wheeling a barrow with him or carting more specimens in a backpack from all over the 4-Corners: CO, AZ, NM, UT.
I tend to be a constant-upcycling, nurturing, artist ... who loves naturalistic landscaping & gardening. Living in the aptly-named Rocky Mountains.
Our property is vast, the work has been long, extending over 15 years, each year adding more & more rocky details to the vista. So editing these photos is tough!
This segment, I'll just focus on how I've used some of the rocks, sticks & stones to make artistic statements around the property.
Me showing off.... after I rocked in the edging of my pond with red rocks my hubby collected from an area near Silverton where water laced with iron dies the mountains red and leaves rusty pebbles for our beds.
Rocking a pretty pathway, flat rocks with pea gravel between. Driftwood piece upended stands 7 feet high as a totem.
I like to upend boulders as well as driftwood to add height and interest.
Meandering pathways between levels -- Blending garden plants, driftwood and details to add continuing interest. I keep creating more of these pathways all around the house and up the hillsides, through gardens and forests... and waterfall cascades like this, too (another post another time...)



oooo I love my morning strolls.... I like to upend rocks to show off the details and vary the heights.
Munchkins you will meet along your garden stroll.
Driftwood view thru my studio door toward the pond and our rock-sculpture garden.
Detail of studio front showing how I colored my cement to match stone... and created a spontaneous mixed-media assemblage of rusted sheet metal, burnt driftwood and stone... yet another post for another time.
Another example of how to vary the heights in your rock sculptures. I made a tripod from 2 iron rods and an aspen stump, then stacked a pair of lichen rocks on top -- Stands 4' tall.
Defining an area is important. I have several different garden ellipses that I blend each with their separate flair. This one features a huge piece of driftwood that points to the pond, red-rock stones swirl around dark mulch for contrast (Garden as tho You are Painting a Canvas!) 
Another red-rock splash of color that also hides faucet as it ties it in with a pine tree -- under which I stash my hose and attachments.
Love to stack rocks and see how they might surprise you.... like this boy and dog playing near the woods.



We like to stack rocks into peekaboos, too... shadows change with the sun in groupings with sparkles of glitter & lichen color...
We stacked several groupings throughout the property into rock benches, looks teetering, but they're rock-solid! The idea IS to make them look natural and spontaneous.
Frequently asked questions
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  2 questions
  • Nancy Nancy on Apr 24, 2017

    How do you lift the large stones?

  • M M on May 02, 2017

    have the rocks on top of the rods ever fallen off?

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