How to Make Your Stone Home Feel at Home in the Landscape

Stone is a predominant exterior material today. Whether colonial, traditional, or contemporary, stone lends timelessness and organic earth connection. But U.S. stone homes historically had an austere look, sitting atop landscapes with little connection to foundation plantings, let alone gardens. Let's explore ways to make your stone home feel truly at home in your landscape.

Design a Purposeful Landscape

Foundation plantings of green boxwood and hollies may be the suburban norm, but homeowners want more. What works for your neighbor may not work for you. Begin by objectively examining your home's style, siding, coloration, and textures.

A gray stone and pink/orange brick home appears happily nestled because careful attention was paid to color and texture. Blue/purple lyme grass, Russian sage, and purple salvia pull from stone; their verticality speaks to home height. Pink coneflowers brighten brick tones; blue atlas cedar texture reinforces stone texture.

Add Boulders

Counterintuitive to add stone around a stone house, but doing so grounds the home meaningfully by visually pulling it forward. Match boulder scale to house scale—undersized boulders look like afterthoughts or failed DIY.

Many boulders here accentuate juxtaposition, appearing deconstructed. Water softens with flow and continuity.

Consider an Entry Gate or Fence

No better place to set the tone than at the entrance. Thoughtfully done, you pull home's color, texture, style forward in smaller doses, encouraging curiosity and the sense of a special place. Not all have space or HOA approval, but if possible, add an appropriate gate or fence using the same stone.

Rethink Your Sidewalk

Concrete sidewalks are the unimaginative suburban norm. A unique sidewalk gives entry anticipation and homogeneous feeling. This bluestone sidewalk in contemporary zigzag pulls home color and texture forward into the landscape. Regardless of stone coloration, a good local stone yard yields several paver types for your home. Perhaps your sidewalk can be resurfaced with appropriate stone.

Consider Garden Sculpture

Thoughtfully placed sculpture creates journey and anticipation for arriving visitors. Multiple pieces create rhythm building anticipation.

An Asian piece here connects with the house—not patio paving—pulling both siding and roof color/texture into the landscape.

Upgrade Patio Furniture

Old metal mesh table/chairs may have worked with a previous house but look tired and out of place now. Time to recycle and upgrade.

Contemporary gray cubes pull home color/texture onto the deck while speaking to clean lines. Wouldn't work with traditional home, but pull weight here with style.

Another set complements a stone home perfectly: chairs contain both gray and brown stone tones; chair shape mimics siding shape; linear stone patio planks continue the theme and ground the furniture.

Add Planters and Pottery

Terra-cotta and ceramic pots come in varied colors/textures—find one complementing your stone. This pottery pulls orange/gray tones from stone and repeats exterior texture.

Don't Neglect Seasonal Interest

Gardeners embrace seasonal change—capitalize by purposefully connecting it to your home. Lake reflects home, politely possessing and grounding it. Foreground boulder repeats stone siding texture. Seasonal orange grass coloration pulls stone's orange tones into landscape for perfect seasonal composition.

How to Start: Plant Pairings for Your Stone Type

Gray Stone Wall

Near-blacks, blues, burgundy, bright pink pair well. Companion plants: Cotinus 'Grace' (zones 5-9), Loropetalum chinense 'Chang Nian Hong' (zones 7-9), Salvia nemorosa cvs. (zones 5-9), Perovskia atriplicifolia cvs. (zones 4-9), Acer palmatum 'Crimson Queen' (zones 5-8), Panicum virgatum 'Dallas Blues' (zones 4-9), Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' (zones 4-8), Actaea simplex 'Black Negligee' (zones 3-9), Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Firewitch' (zones 3-9), Solenostemon scutellarioides cvs. (zone 11).

Accent colors for pottery/accessories: blue and bright pink. If terra-cotta preferred, seek more pink than orange tones. Stainless steel sculpture suits this stone.

Cultured Stone (Gray/Orange with Plum Accents)

Companion plants: Berberis thunbergii 'Orange Rocket' (zones 4-9), Weigela florida 'Alexandra' (zones 4-8), Physocarpus opulifolius 'Mindia' (zones 3-8), Agastache rupestris 'Apache Sunset' (zones 6-9), Loropetalum chinensis 'PIILC-I' (zones 7-9), Acer palmatum 'Orangeola' (zones 5-8), plus Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' and Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Firewitch'.

Accent colors: blue and orange. Terra-cotta pieces leaning orange over pink. Stainless or rusted steel sculpture appropriate.