Rocks in the American landscape

Abstract

At the dawn of history, man used rocks for shelter, defense and places of worship. As he became more advanced, he evolved art forms from rock. In China and Japan rocks were used as sculpture with symbolic meaning over 2000 years ago. The English adapted Oriental ideas on the landscape uses of rocks to produce the typical English rock garden.

In the United States, rocks were used very sparingly before 1900 as landscape enriching elements. During the 1920's the English rock garden became popular here, but soon lost its appeal. After World War II national interest was aroused in the Japanese usages of rocks.

Rocks range in size from sand grains to mammoth boulders. They vary tremendously in size, color, texture, stratification and form. They have vast potential as landscape elements in residential, commercial, industrial, campus and highway landscapes, in parks and parking lots, and around public buildings. Naturally sculptured rocks have an aged appearance and a feeling of solidity that ideally qualify them as spatial and enriching elements in the landscape. Their beauty, symbolism, utility and generally low maintenance requirements adapt them to our modern way of life as long lasting, satisfying, usable art forms. In the landscape they may be used as ground covers, stepping stones, natural featured sculptures, retaining walls, space dividers, focal points, screens, in dry streams, in bodies of water, as complements for plant materials and in numerous other exciting ways.