From beautiful natural stone veneers and displays to vastly unique rock landscapes, The Rock Garden of Northern Colorado is dedicated to helping its customers learn about the use of locally sourced stone. They work to raise appreciation for natural stone, bringing innovative designs to life.

The Rock Garden is a locally owned quarry operation that is one of the only places that mines natural stone in Northern Colorado. For 20 years and counting, they have been quarrying sandstone, brownstone and Aspen and Cherokee sandstones to create all sorts of different materials with various dimensions, sizes and thicknesses.

Jacob Govero is the general manager and sales manager at The Rock Garden and has been working there for about five years. Since starting at The Rock Garden, Govero has grown in his appreciation for natural pieces of stone that each uniquely capture a part of history. He said each stone holds value in its own way, and they wish to highlight that in every design.

“I think (the purpose) is to serve people and make our city look beautiful and nicer. Nature stone pollutes less than other building materials. We are working with Mother Earth, trying to be as clean and efficient as we can.” -Francisco Bejarano Gonzalez, quarry manager

“I almost look at us as recyclers utilizing something that’s been there in the past,” Govero said. “You pull it out, and every piece of stone is completely unique. No rock looks like the next one; each piece of stone has its own completely unique characteristics.”

They have a show garden surrounding the building with a plethora of displays of boulders, chairs, benches and archways. One of the biggest reasons for the business’s name came from the original founder’s desire to truly showcase what one could do with the material in natural surroundings.

Govero said they have gotten a healthy mix of people who either come to enjoy the overall beauty of the garden or feel inspired to have this stone in their own home. He passionately spoke about how their garden is eye catching and draws people in.

“This is open to the public,” Govero said. “So we get a lot of people that are just coming to check it out for wedding photographs or graduation photos. Individuals can get a beautiful spot in town to walk around. … It’s a whole gauntlet of things that you could think of that would bring people in, and it (also) acts as inspiration for clients.”

Receptionist Katelyn Davis has been with the business for almost a year and said she has found the overall experience of working with customers to be fulfilling. She said she appreciates how it’s unlike any other place in that it prioritizes community and enhances the more open-minded mentality toward using local stone.

“It’s just interesting to see how rock can be used and manipulated into beautiful things,” Davis said. “It takes more pride (in) where you’re located, utilizing the resources in your community and in your environment. When using nature stone, you have to appreciate that this was formed by the Earth, and (there are) certain beauties along with that.”

Quarry Manager Francisco Bejarano Gonzalez has been working at The Rock Garden for 19 years and helps to carry the natural stone out of the ground. He said he has a big passion for natural stones and understands both the environmental and cultural benefits of constructing them into beautiful creations.

“I think (the purpose) is to serve people and make our city look beautiful and nicer,” Gonzalez said. “Nature stone pollutes less than other building materials. We are working with Mother Earth, trying to be as clean and efficient as we can.”

Govero acknowledged that one of the biggest strengths of The Rock Garden is its team, which fulfills certain roles efficiently. Whether it’s pulling and cutting the stone or working with customers to execute the desired design, the employees put passion into everything they do.

Govero said he hopes to see growth in their prominence, bringing more people in to see what they are doing.

“As far as growth is concerned, we’d like to just continue to grow our reputation and scope, speaking with different clients and customers,” Govero said. “Hopefully we’ve earned the reputation as a company that actually cares about what we’re doing and our customers.”

Reach Sananda Chandy at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian.