What rocks do we use?

When looking to improve your landscape, the first thing you might be inclined to add is plants or mulch. Both of these are excellent choices that we applaud profusely. But – stay with us now – what if rocks and boulders could add just as, if not more, appeal to your landscaping and save you money on water and maintenance?

We love big and beautiful rocks here at Rock Walls Melbourne! We supply landscaping rocks for all purposes and particularly focus on natural rock retaining wall solutions. We offer a number of types of rocks, mainly, Basalt Rock, Mudstone and Yellow Granite. Read on below to learn more about each type below.

Basalt Rock (Bluestone)

In Victoria, what is known as bluestone is called basalt. Basalt is an igneous rock made up primarily of feldspar and is usually grey to black and fine-grained owing to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. Basalt is incredibly durable and hardwearing.

The holes that appear on the surface of basalt rock are as a result of gases escaping during the cooling process. It is part of the natural beauty of the stone.

It was one of the favoured building materials during the Victorian Gold Rush period of the 1850s. Basalt rock or Bluestone was also used extensively as cobblestone, and for kerbs and gutters, many examples which still exist in some of Melbourne’s smaller city lanes. That kind of historical significance makes it the perfect material to use for larger retaining projects. It can be supplied naturally (as-is) or split. The natural basalt look displays more brown hues whilst the split option brings out the blue.

Yellow Granite

Yellow Granite is a coarse-grained igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly solidifies underground. Granite, which is named for its “granular” or phaneritic texture, has crystals that tend to be easily seen, although they are generally small. Granite is widely found across the world and is generally the foundation of many mountain chains.

Our Yellow Granite boulders are smooth edged and typically have a rounded shape. The granite is ideal for widespread applications including around ponds and dry river beds, construction, feature rock, and general landscaping applications.

Mudstone

Mudstone or mudrock is a fine grained sedimentary rock that comes in a large range of shapes and sizes. Its colour is varied in shades of earthy browns and has a wide range of practical uses from retaining walls, pool and garden landscaping to even more traditional housing construction. Mudstone can be split to form thin plates which adds to its versatility.

Fun fact: Mudstone makes up fifty percent of the sedimentary rocks in the geologic record, and are easily the most widespread deposits on Earth. Let’s utilise the beautiful material that Mother Earth gave us!

We’re lovers of all kinds of rocks here at Rock Walls Melbourne. Every project is different and requires the right system to achieve the perfect result. If you’re looking for a large scale rocks and love the natural look that a rock wall can provide, then we want to hear from you. Contact Jeremy on 1300 886 303 to discuss your project today!