Choosing Decorative Rock for a Yakima Yard: Montana Rainbow, China White, Champagne, Red Lava and Yellow Pathway

Decorative rock is the part of a yard people see. The gravel underneath is the part that does the work, and the best-looking beds get both right. Here is a guide to five rocks from our decorative list, and the habits that keep a rock bed looking good after the first season.

The five rocks

• Montana Rainbow comes in several forms at our yard: 3/4 inch chips, 3/4 inch and 1 1/2 inch round, and 6 to 10 inch cobble. A mixed-color rock is usually easy to pair with the colors already around a house.
• China White is sold in a 1 1/4 inch size. As the name suggests, it's the pale one.
• Champagne is also 1 1/4 inch, and by name a softer, warmer tone than white.
• Red Lava comes as Red Lava Medium. Lava rock is typically porous and lighter than quarried stone, so ask us about it when you work out how much to order.
• Yellow Pathway is the yellow one, and we sell it as path material.

The names tell you most of it, but colors vary from bin to bin and look different wet and dry, so the best test is to walk the bins and see the rock in daylight.

Crushed or round

Our list includes both shapes. Chips, such as the 3/4 Chip Rainbow, are crushed, so the pieces have edges. They tend to knit together and stay put, which suits slopes, paths and anywhere people walk. Round rock, such as the 3/4 inch and 1 1/2 inch round rainbow, is smooth and shifts underfoot. It looks softer and works well in flat beds, around trees and in dry creek beds, but it migrates, so it's a poor fit for a slope or a heavily used path. Cobble, in the 6 to 10 inch range, is for accents and edges, not for walking.

Picking by color

Start with the house. Roof, siding and trim set the colors your eye already sees, so rock that echoes one of them usually looks intentional. A pale rock like China White tends to read bright and can show dirt and debris, while darker or warmer rock hides them better. Light rock also reflects more sun, and dark rock tends to hold more heat. In a Yakima summer, dark rock right next to tender plants can run hot, so think about what you plan to put beside it.

Colors shift between a damp bin and a dry bed, and between morning and late afternoon. A photo can't settle it. Set the rock next to the ground you're covering, and look at it in the light you'll see it in.

Fabric and edging first

Most of the work that keeps a rock bed looking good happens before the rock goes down. Rough in the grade so water runs away from the house. Pull the weeds and roots out. Lay landscape fabric over the bare ground and overlap the seams by several inches, so weeds don't push through the gaps. In planting beds, fabric is a trade-off, since it can keep organic matter from reaching the soil below, so many people use it for paths and open rock areas and skip it where they plan to add plants over time.

Edging holds the rock in. Steel, stone, pavers or a cut trench along the lawn all work, and rock without edging tends to wander into the grass within a season. We stock grey and charcoal edgestones and a red scalloped edge. Set the edging so the finished rock sits just below the top of it.

How much to order

Rock typically goes down 2 to 3 inches deep over fabric. One cubic yard covers roughly 160 square feet at 2 inches deep, and about 108 square feet at 3 inches. A bed 10 feet by 20 feet is 200 square feet, so at 2 inches that's a little over 1 1/4 yards. The same formula we use for gravel works here: length x width x depth in feet, divided by 27.

Decorative rock costs more per yard than base rock. From the yard's online store in October 2026, and subject to change: Champagne is $225.00 per yard, Montana Rainbow 1 1/2 inch is $230.00 per yard, and both China White and Yellow Pathway material are $235.00 per yard. Montana Rainbow 3/4 chips come in a super bag of 3000 pounds for $315.00, and 6 to 10 inch Montana Rainbow cobble comes in a basket for $395.00. Call us for Red Lava pricing. Because decorative rock is a premium over plain base rock, many people put the showpiece rock only in the top few inches, over a plainer rock where the bed needs a base.

Come walk the bins at 31 W Washington Ave in Yakima, or call (509) 469-3836 if you'd like to talk through color and quantity first. From November through mid-March, call ahead, since the yard runs on appointments over the winter.