Stone-Ideas.com

The trend is conspicuous: Stone trade fairs are showing more and more gardening and landscaping products. Conversely, gardening and landscaping trade fairs have seen a growing share of stone producers exhibiting. There are no statistics or numbers to cite, but this much is clear: next to architecture and design gardening and landscaping has morphed to a market of hope for the stone industry, so much so, in fact, that one trade journal wrote: „Green is the colour of hope“.

True enough: the branch does not offer the possibility of great turnover in mass. But small producers and manufacturers of enriched products, those who add value by incorporating services or ideas, will find an attractive field. Readers will find below a checklist („Role Model Automotive Industry: Consumers and Suppliers Closely Intertwined“) for interested newcomers.

We have compiled the most important aspects around this theme. These are: dry stone wall – of great interest in many countries, and gabions – wire mesh encasings for riprap.

Other aspects of gardening and landscaping, like Crazy Paving or the use of gravel as mulch will be covered in a subsequent issue.

In many European countries, gabions are quickly gaining popularity and esteem among garden-owners. These are mesh baskets made of galvanized steel wire and filled with riprap. The technique probably was first implemented around 1890 in Italy as an economical means of supporting roads and banks, as the name implies, which stems from „gabbia“ the Italian word for „cage“.

No longer are these merely square boxes as can be seen along the slopes of European highways. They are being produced in many different shapes and sizes, among others as thin protective walls or as round turrets.

We have repeatedly reported on the diverse implementation possibilities. By and by the gamut is being exploited to its fullest: newcomers are, e.g.: L-shaped gabions for building corners, or gabions in which soil-filled elements are incorporated. Others yet have lights integrated so that at night the gabions emit a bizarre glow.

Some producers even go so far as to offer grow-mats, which can be integrated in the baskets and will eventually enrobe the mesh in natural greenery.

Garden-owners with small children, too, enjoy tailor-made solutions. The so-called security gabions promise that no sharp wire edges protrude which might injure a child.

By no means are gabions always filled with quarry waste. Often their visible side is filled with high-value stone, giving the elements a noble appearance. One company has integrated bright stone among dark ones spelling out the company name for all to see.

By the way: in Europe one can now purchase do-it-yourself gabions. The consumer buys the wire mesh siding, and assembles it on site filling it with available material or the material of his choice. Note that such constructions do not stand up to excessive strain. Professionally filled gabions are jounced to assure optimal density and fit.

In many countries, dry walls are a relic of past centuries. In Great Britain and Ireland they meander along hundreds of meters over pastures and slopes. They were originally erected as boundaries for pasture animals or as demarcation elements. They offer an attractive accent with their washed grey colour contrasting to the lush green of the pastures in the landscape.

After many years of neglect, these dry walls have recently been rediscovered and are experiencing a sort of revival among enthusiasts. The Dry Stonewalling Society in Great Britain not only actively offers laymen and companies alike an opportunity to train in the art. It also entertains international contacts (see links).

A dry wall is aesthetical pleasing, and ecologically sound as it offers a living environment for a multitude of animals. But unlike concrete, it requires maintenance. Gaps often ensue, which, if not properly filled, soon extend to leave but an elongated heap of stone where the wall was once standing.

By the way: Hadrian’s Wall in England or the Limes on the European continent do not count to the dry walls as the builders used bonding material, namely lime mortar. This, then, is the definition: a dry wall is a wall comprised of layered stone only – without use of any bonding material.

Mostly quarry stones are used and only roughly split to size. The art is in the layering, which must stand up to natural earth movements, rain and wildlife.

The United States also has its dry walls, the most famous of which are situated in the State of Kentucky in the blue grass region. Many stories are told of them: it is often said that they were erected by slaves during the confederate war (1861-1865).

USA: Dry Stone Conservancy, Stone Wall Initiative

UK: Dry Stone Walling Association

France: Pierre Sèche