Dramatic, but natural, is the way to go.
There are volumes written about stone in the garden, so I won't try to cover everything. I just want to point out a few obvious DON'TS.
DON'T ONE: Skeletons are meant to be under the skin, not on top of it. Ergo, rocks must look as if they are emerging from the earth, as they would in nature. Embed them in the soil with uneven edges.
DON'T:
DON'T:
DO:
DON'T TWO: No pearl necklaces. Mikimoto belongs around your neck, not in the garden. Maybe its just me, but I absolutely cringe at "necklaces" of little round rocks arranged single file around a tree or edging a garden bed. Its one thing to use precut pavers, which are meant to give a clean narrow mowing edge and don't purport to look like anything other than artificial structures. (EXCEPT for little circles around big trees in the middle of the lawn, which are tabu no matter what you use.) But if you're going to use natural rock, keep it organic. Pile stones together, use mixed sizes, make the edge wide.
DON'T:
DON'T:
PLEASE GOD, DON'T:
DO:
DO:
DON'T THREE: Keep your girdle hidden. If you're using gravel or small stones to make a path, you'll need an edge to keep the stone from spilling into the surrounding area. But please, embed the edge (and no, you can't cover it with little rocks. I tried that once, quel disaster.)
DON'T:
DON'T FOUR: If you want a stone waterfall, fine. But don't let it sit there bare, or with a few paltry ferns in pots around the base. Balance that big slab of concrete/stone/fiberglass with an equal amount of greenery and other natural material.
DON'T:
DO:
CLOSING THOUGHT: Zen garden style is an exception. Rocks are meant to jut from flat beds of gravel. But this is a narrow exception: Asian gardens are actually perfect tutorials on how to use stone, and I recommend reading a basic primer, such as Sunset's book on Japanese Gardens to anyone wanting to incorporate boulders or stone in their garden.
Go rock your garden!
