I'm making a plea for river stones - rich, you might think, for someone who has been loudly derisive of them for the past couple of years.
Aren't we over river stones and grasses, I've asked?
Well, no, we're not. We're over nothing but river stones and grasses, but having just unearthed
a couple of dozen of them while redesigning the front garden, I've discovered that they still have their uses.
Certainly the sterile look of concrete, river stones and a lonesome cycad has long gone, but that's no reason to take your stones - which you may well have paid good money for in the day - to the tip.
They're actually a great addition to the garden, perfect for hiding electric wiring, supporting wobbly bits of sculpture, edging paths and providing a focal point among the plants.
Apply the same rule to them as landscapers do to plants and group them in threes or fives. They're ideal for drawing attention away from gaps and spaces where plants, for whatever reason, just don't work.
But you can't simply plonk them down. Move them around and dig them in until they look comfortable. Like models, they all have their best side.
