Choosing the right stone for your garden
We all know that feeling of choice overload when faced with a large range of products. The same can be true when deciding the best stone for your garden. Even if you’ve whittled down your choice to a Yorkstone, there’s still a variety available with different qualities and purposes. You could have worse problems on your hands, admittedly, but we’ve pulled together some advice to help you make the right decision:
Style
When choosing paving stones for your garden, it’s important to decide whether you want them to correspond with the style of your house or have their own independent character. If your home is more contemporary, paving that’s sleek and sharp-looking will allow your interior and exterior to complement each other. For example, our New Sawn Yorkstone Paving can give your garden this clean, slick touch, whereas our Crazy Paving or New Riven Hand-fettled Paving offers a more traditional feel.
The texture of your stone will also contribute to your garden design. A smooth stone can match a neat garden with straight lines and crisp sharp edges, or the minimalism of a modern garden. Riven stone, meanwhile, has an uneven, rough-hewn surface that’s perfect for a more natural style.
Colour and location
It’s also vital to consider where you’ll be placing the paving in your garden, so it complements the space. If you’re paving in a shaded area, you might want a tone of stone that’ll add a touch of brightness, such as our Hebden Sawn Yorkstone Paving. A stone’s lightness can also contribute to the sense of mood in parts of your garden – whether it’s a calming, quieter atmosphere, or a bright and lively patio area.
Then there are the colours of the turf or foliage, factoring in whether buffer, darker or lighter tones will match the surrounding trees, leaves, flowers or wood. A stone that blends in can create a more natural look that’s ideal for meditation gardens, whereas contrast can be used to distinguish paths, borders and different areas within your garden. You’ll also want to ensure it’s nicely coordinated with the materials of any garden furniture, ornaments or water features.
Wear and Tear
It’s best to be realistic about your climate and typical weather, so it doesn’t literally rain on your parade. For a safe, durable solution, avoid stone that can become slippery once it’s rained, icy or covered in moss due to lack of sun.
While cheaper alternatives, such as Spanish or Chinese sandstone, only have a 5-20 year life expectancy due to their brittleness, Yorkstone paving is perfect for all weathers and won’t become worn or unusable – in fact, it just gets better with age and lasts well over 100 years! When using our Reclaimed Street Grade Paving, a natural stone sealant can be applied to avoid any potential slipperiness in poor weather conditions. All this gives you reassurance you can continue enjoying your garden even as you grow older or lose mobility.
Purpose
It’s not just the elements that your garden stone will take a hit from – there’s also you and any family or pets. Consider what you’ll use your garden for, as a lot of hosting, outdoor drinks and barbecues can require resistance against stains and scuffs. However, if you’re after Yorkstone paving that’ll be purely decorative, our New Sawn Paving is diamond-sawn on six sides for a smooth, finished look that’s perfect for a range of projects – from steps and risers, to copings.
Either way, better quality stone like this will save you finding time in your busy lifestyle for the high maintenance and seasonal work needed by cheaper Spanish, Chinese or Indian sawn stone.
Budget
A phased approach – carrying out your project bit by bit – can be a more budget-friendly option instead of landscaping your whole garden at once. It’s better to gradually get your garden looking spectacular than have it look disappointing by doing it in the cheapest possible way. You don’t want to waste your money on stone that’s easily damaged, wears, fades or incurs extra costs from maintenance or replacement.
Our Yorkstone is hand-selected from the best UK quarries, so we don’t compromise on quality. With a range like ours, there’s a product to suit every garden – and now you have the tips to find yours. Want a more visual stone comparison? We'll send you our stone comparison guide to see how each stone stacks up - just send us a webchat and we will send it by email!
