Question
I live in Queen Creek, AZ and have a small 40' x 36' back yard with a 14' x 28' pool and a 12' x 10' patio. I tried putting sod throughout the entire backyard but was unable to maintain it and it has all pretty much died (my 85lb dobe didn't help).  What I am thinking about doing is digging out all the grass and covering the ground with 3/4" - 1 1/2" river rock instead. That way it would be less maintenance and I could run an extension off the front yard sprinkler system and put some plant life in the back also. Also river rock would be softer to the barefoot alot more than other rocks I think. Have you ever seen anyone use river rock in their backyards before, other than "river beds"?

Thanks,
Brian

Answer
Hey, Brian.

Well, it's a shame that I didn't get your question a mere 72 hours earlier because then I would have had some pictures of what someone did many years ago with a large back yard in College Station, Texas. That someone was me!

But truthfulness requires me to tell you that it wasn't my idea; I got it after seeing a yard in San Marcos, Texas, when I was on my way to go tubing down the Guadalupe River. What they had done (and what I did) was use large river rock boulder clusters as accents, with most of the yard using 3/4"-1 1/2" river rock, and with some walking paths created using 1/2" river rock pebbles so that it looked like the walking paths were rivers.

Since I didn't have any vegetation in the yard I was doing, I placed maroon pots (I'm a Texas Aggie) throughout the yard, ranging in size from small pots in clusters to large specimen pots. Then I planted my favorite cactus and succulents in them.

Anyway, you bring back memories; unfortunately, a weekend computer death caused me to lose a lot of older pictures and documents that I had not backed up. But, yes, I have seen someone use river rock in their yards before. Something that my wise ol' grandmother taught me (she nurtured my interest in plants and landscaping) was to make my garden and my home my own. There are no rules to follow unless one is trying to create a formal English garden or some such. If a non-traditional garden or landscaping makes you happy, which means that you'll get outside and enjoy it, then do it. I hope you'll send me some pictures when you're finished.