Build a dry creek bed: add the look of water without the fuss

Sunset, Oct, 2005 by Julie Chai

You don't need water to suggest its presence in the garden. Just build a dry creek bed that looks as though a rushing stream deposited the stones and settled them in. The bed pictured at right took two people only four hours (including shopping time) to complete, and cost under $300. It measures 17 feet long and widens from 1 foot to 5 feet; it's 1 inch deep at the sides and 3 inches at center. To build one like it, you'll need 1 roll of landscape fabric; 6 boulders ranging from 1 to 2 feet across; gray cobblestones (about 4 cubic feet each of three sizes, 1 to 3 inches in diameter); and about a quarter ton of 1/2-inch gray-toned and sand-colored pebbles.

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DESIGN: Gay Bonorden Gray, Mountain View, CA (650/969-9523)

RELATED ARTICLE: To build the bed ...

1. Use a hose to outline the creek bed's edges, adjusting it as needed to create gentle curves.

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2. Dig the bed with a spade or shovel, making it deeper in the center. Use excess soil to build berms beside the bed. Remove the hose.

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3. Lay landscape fabric over bed to prevent weeds from sprouting. Avoid getting soil on fabric (it can host weeds). Place boulders, setting them into depressions 1 to 2 inches deep beneath fabric.

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4. Scatter 1/3 of the largest cobbles over fabric, then add a 1-inch layer of pebbles around them. Toss in remaining cobbles and finish with smallest ones. Walk lightly on bed to settle stones.

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