F.Y.I: KRC Rock has D.I.Y Dry Streambeds

Add excitement and uniqueness to your landscape with your own do-it-yourself dry streambed. Take a water guzzling, grass-filled area or a dull flowerless landscape and transform it into breathtaking, natural-looking riverbed. Dry streambeds add the perfect amount of creativity to anyone’s yard. In just 7 easy steps, you can transform your yard into an awe-inspiring landscape.

1. Plan Your Streambed: Streambeds should suggest a purpose. When determining the path of the stream, keep in mind that water, real or imagined, should flow from higher elevations to lower. For a natural look, cut the stream diagonal across your property and ad variation in width, course (direction) and slope.

2. Select Material: For natural looking streambeds, variation in rock size is important. Ranging from large boulders to small pebbles, you want to select a variety of sizes that are complimentary in color. Also, in natural streams rushing water smoothes the rough edges of the rocks. To build a more authentic looking streambed, you should try choosing round rocks, or angular rocks with smooth edges.

3. Site Preparation: Remove any unwanted vegetation, sprinklers, pipes, wiring and debris from the area. Lay out the streambed on the ground with powdered gypsum, lime or marking paint.

4. Grading: Grade the area to establish the stream channel. Natural streams are narrow in steep areas and wider on flat areas. Allow for the extra soil you will generate when digging and remember to take drainage and boulder size into consideration.

5. Install Filter Cloth: Fit the filter cloth/weed barrier to conform to the streambed. Lap joints no less than 2” and cut irregular edges around boulders or other objects. Nails (8d) are great to hold down the edges of the fabric.

6. Install Boulder: Most boulders are found at the edge of natural streams or in the stream as an island. No matter where they are placed, boulders should be buried a portion of their depth to give them a natural appearance.

7. Install River Rock: Dump a mixture of rock sizes in the streambed and spread them across the width of the bed by moving the largest rocks to the outer edges. Fill the voids with smaller rock. Remember larger rock has a “nestled in” appearance so surround boulders with smaller rock. Spray the streambed with water to eliminate dust and settle fine materials.