A landscape retaining wall is more than just practical, it can be a very beautiful way to add dimension to a simple front yard or garden or to organize a backyard into both adult lounge areas and children’s play areas. And it is one of the few landscaping projects that can be done in a weekend and have a huge impact on the use of your yard.
There are a variety of materials you can use when building a landscape retaining wall for your back yard or garden. You can use traditional red brick or river stone or slab stone. Often, if you have stone or brick for trim on your home you can even use that same material for a landscape retaining wall, tieing in your garden and house visually. You can also build a landscape retaining wall from brick or stone that isn’t even real brick or stone. There are some really beautiful stone walls out there that were made using molds and concrete that create the look of an old stone wall in a garden without the work of dealing with heavy stones.
Another popular material is wood or even old railroad ties. Although these have to be replaced more often than a stone wall, they have a very different look that might suit your garden better than brick or stone. There are a variety of ways to approach this and many places to get this kind of material, often at a discount. Used railroad ties are often advertised on EBay or similar sites. You are only limited by your imagination – so here are a some books and videos to give you some great ideas on what kind of landscape retaining wall you want to build.
Finally, to complete a softer more landscaped effect for your retaining wall, you might consider what plants you will use once you have built your wall. Because the slope behind the wall will contribute plenty of moisture, growing plants along the tip edge of the wall will also help control erosion, a major reason for creating the wall in the first place. Low-growing plants or ones that tend to creep will be a good choice for your initial plants. Several good choices for this might be: Trumpet Vine, Morning Glory, Moon Flower (the last two are particularly good together) or Nasturtium. For a more “English Garden” look, try Creeping Flox and Vica or Periwinkles.
No matter what you are looking to do or what material you use, a landscape retaining wall is something that will add beauty and value to your home and yard for years to come.
