Creating a Pebble Mosaic

I've long admired pebble mosaics but never had the confidence to build one myself. Michael is more adventurous in these matters and was eager to take it on. The grass on the south tip of green strip in the Pan garden always looked bad after the winter months and I suspect the ground there is wetter. After we edged the borders with stones, I had an idea of replacing the tip of the grassy area with a pebble mosaic.

First, Michael hand selected some river rocks (from Yard N' Garden Land, of course).

First the base was created by digging down about 4-5 inches and filling in with a layer of paver gravel and a layer of sand

A layer of mortar mix was added on the top layer and smoothed out. 

Misting is an important step and must be continually done as the pebbles are applied.

I drew the design out on paper and Michael watched a YouTube video and learned that drawing out the design with a stick would be helpful.

Of course, doing it several times may be required to get what you want.

More misting and the beginnings of putting in the stones.

With Michael on one side and me on the other, it occurred to me that our drawing styles might not match. 

Michael's sprial ....

My spiral....

Michael's stones were also deeper than mine initially so I applied more muscle. We then started swapping sides as we progressed. 

After completing it, a coat of wet-look sealer was applied to the stones a day later.

I'm pleased with the results but for me, it was stressful work and getting down on my hands and knees is very taxing these days. I'm not sure if I'd want to tackle another project like this although Michael loved doing it and said he was ready for another one.

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy