We’ve done many different designs in our front garden. First we tore out tired old lawn & junipers. Then we busted out a useless, narrow concrete path & remade the aggregate chunks into a patio space. Quickly, we learned this “patio” was 1) not installed properly (by us) so it didn’t work out in the long run 2) this space has great “sunset” exposure in the summer 3) we wanted something stunning, functional with privacy from the street. 
I looked at several ideas to create a seating area to go with a patio in this space — we considered a COBB (straw bale) wall, a dry stack stone wall, wooden benches, steel walls with affixed stone or wooden benches, and finally we settled on large granite boulders randomly set at seating height. This photo shows the a winter view of the area, area dug out and spaces defined before any stone was brought in. The bench gives a sense of scale. This Spring I selected several pieces of granite outcropping stone to fit the space. It was delivered and dumped into place by a rock setting truck. The plan was to have a rock setting crew come out and hand set the stone into its final position as the rock truck wasn’t able to do the full setting. Weeks, then months, passed by. A dusty, weed patch grew in, filling the space that is to become a patio, eventually.
I finally pulled together the best crew I know — my husband and his buddies — to help me wrangle the stone into position. I helped a bit, but because of a groin injury, mostly I took photos and consulted.
They did an amazing job — talk about being up to the challenge! Three guys, not professional rock guys, worked about 3 hours each, each day (6 hours each, 3 guys, so 18 man hours) to tackle a huge task. Its so wonderful to see the project clicking along. There are a few corrections left to make on one stone & a last one to position after that, but I’m thrilled so far. 
The guys worked as a great team looking at the space, thinking about the stones, discussing angles, vectors and what “might happen, if we do such & such”. For the most part things just worked. I wonder how sore their arms and backs are today?! (Bob was planing trim for our hallway in his “off time”; Jason & David took a 30 mile bike ride on Sunday, after the rock chore. The guys love to be busy!)
At the end of the second work day, we had three of five stones totally set. The fourth needs a little more attention. The fifth will be set once the others are completely done. The stubborn “fourth” rock is a challenge for all the guys. None of the guys want to be “beaten by a stupid rock”, so my guess is they’ll “get Egyptian” on it again in a couple of weeks. (Yes, the pyramid-building jokes were out in full force during this job!) After they were done for the day on Sunday, Bob enjoyed a snack out on one rock & did not want to be photographed!
So, what happens next? Well, after the stubborn rock issue is finalized and the fifth rock is then positioned, we’ll re-establish our patio levels, order in crushed stone for our patio base & begin filling & tamping in that material. Depending on budget, we will order in flagstone and set that as well…or that might wait for next year after our bank has recovered. Staging in projects is something I’m constantly doing at home and for my clients. For now I’m thrilled to just be able to kick back on a beautiful stone, demonstrating how comfortable a rock can be when properly positioned in a garden. (It’ll be extra sweet when the rocks are pressure washed, a patio of some sort is in place, an I can wear something less grubby out there!)
[...] about the granite boulder project in our garden & want to see pix, here’s the link: http://www.gardenhelp.org/gardening/granite-stone-seats-a-team-effort/ « 1st Walk in Several Days | [...]