[stb]

First post here but I wanted to say that I have been reading many of the posts on this board and really appreciate the help everyone offers. It seems like a supportive group. Which is what makes me brave enough to join and post something that might get me laughed out of here.

We have a typical house in the heard of the Silicon Valley. Small lot made smaller by the previous owner's remodels which is fine. We've been here a little over a year and are diving into the yard. We're replacing everything with California Natives and want to build wildlife habitat to prove it can be done in the city. Thus far, we've removed all the lawns and all the plants in the yard except for one tree in the back ( a very large Japanese Maple.)

The hardscape was next and my plan was to get it done before fall when we will plant. We started by removing all the excess cement the previous owners had poured over the years, including the driveway (have a beautiful paver driveway now with lots of room to plant around it.)



We removed the solid cement sideyard and had a stone path installed.



We didn't have the ideal homeowner/contractor matchup and now I am trying to figure out how to live/fix/alter what we have left. We went went blue stone and yes, I okayed it after going to the stoneyard but I am new and didn't think clearly. It is okay on the sideyard except for the blue DG in-between (looks like a bunch of cement to me) I plant on getting a lot of plants into that area.

Due to the bad matchup between contractor and myself we ended up with TONS of leftover blue stone. Which would be fine if I was in love with the stone.

But I'm not.

I have enough to do a path from the sideyard to the rest of the backyard but to be honest, I don't want to look at that much of it.


The whole thing just reminds me of all the cement we took out.

So I'm wondering if I can stain it? Like with iron sulfate? (Here's where I figure you can all have a good laugh on me.) We bought 4 tons of stone which was a ton of money for us so I can't just get rid of it and get more. The only other thought I had was to maybe do a bit of a stone wall with it but still, that color is just so light.

I need a hero.

Anyone have any suggestions? Want to tell me how to fall in love with it?

Thanks in advance.

[Stonehenge]

It's funny, because the stuff doesn't look like bluestone. Could be my eyes playing tricks on me, or the photography. But it does seem light.

You could try iron sulfate - just might work. If you like the look, then buy some flat finish stone sealer (you'll only find the good stuff at a stone supplier, not a big box store) to seal in the color.

You could also try sealing it without the iron sulfate to darken it and bring out the color more. Try a wet finish to see how that suits your tastes.

Good luck.

[stb]

Thanks, Stonehenge, it is REALLY light. Some of the pieces are bluer than others. It was called Tumbled Garden Path.

We were just outside this afternoon looking at the path which get watered 3 times a week and the stone there is changing color, getting darker around the edges. I don't know if it is damp underneath and causing it, leeching of something or what.

I'm going to pick up some iron sulfate tomorrow and try it on a small piece. Thanks for the tip on the sealer. I can get that at the actual rockyard, I would imagine.

The blue decomposed granite makes it look even worse - like a sea of cement (and I still have 4 yards of DG left thanks to the "misunderstanding" with the contractor.)

Maybe instead of using it for a path I could do a small stacked wall for an accent somewhere. Sigh.

[FungusMudGrub]

You can always plant some kind of groundcover, like thyme, between the stones to hide the stone dust.

[Fine Edge]

As for the path, once all the stones settle, you can probably plant in between and remove enough of the stone dust in the joints to add mulch. That would make it look a bit better.

[stb]

Thank you all, yes, I plan to plant in-between on the path. I'm cultivating the flats of groundcover for that now. My problem is what to do with the 2 tons of stone left since it is not the right color for the yard. The iron sulfate didn't do a thing to it so I guess I'll try some concrete stain.