My Pet Rocks

Unresponsive, rude are the stones: Yet in them divine things lie concealed….
 – Helen Keller, “The Song of the Stone Wall”

Give me a rock, and I will show you what I can do with them. They may be hard, unresponsive and silent. For me, they are my perfect companion. I have a soft spot for them.

In the beginning, I didn’t know what to do with them. The rocks are a sight for sore eyes. However, the more I look at them, an idea emerged. I discovered possibilities what still rocks can do. They became an anchor for an elevated garden that gathers moss, ferns, and hostas.

Viewing from my balcony, this is where I admire the fruits of my labor building a rock garden. The back rock garden is in a shady spot of the property where low light plants are growing. These plants are perfect for a rock garden.

From this beginning, when the tree in our front yard was cut-down, I replaced it as a centerpiece with the help of my neighbor who was a house builder asking him to bring me plenty of big rocks from his construction site. Placing the stones around the stump of the tree, in time, the rocks changed its presence filling it with flowers and potted maple tree. A place for sun-loving plants.

What I created will weather through the years and will become a gathering place for birds, bees, ants, people and not to mention a family of skunk.

These rocks are no ordinary stones. They are the bones of the garden. Plants come and go, but the rocks remain all year-long.