How to Use Retaining Walls as Planting Beds
If you’re thinking of building a raised garden bed using a retaining wall, then you’ll be pleased to find out that the project is straightforward. This idea is one of the most popular front yard landscaping designs and is as easy as raising some soil and bordering it with retaining wall blocks of your choice. There are a few vital details to consider, however.
There are many retaining wall ideas
out there, and each design uses similar steps, which we will cover here. But first, let’s talk about why you might want to know how to build a retaining wall.
Why Build a Retaining Wall Garden?
There are plenty of reasons why you might want a retaining wall garden. Here are some of the most popular reasons for a retaining wall design:
Start by Choosing your Work Area
Before you build your retaining wall base plant bed, you need to choose a location for it in your yard. It should ideally be in a central location so it can provide a view from all angles.
Once you pick a spot, mark the shape of a bed with flour, spray paint, or a string. The exact shape is a matter of personal preference, so you can be as creative as you want with the design here. There are endless possibilities, so don’t limit yourself.
As a general rule, circular beds are charming, while rectangular or square beds give a more regular and orderly feel. You can also go for unforced, flowing shapes that blend into the overall environment.
A bed whose shape aligns with the garden’s natural contours will look like it’s always been there. Again, give your imagination free rein and see what comes up.
You also don’t need to worry too much about how airy the soil is. A raised plant bed provides natural drainage, so that will work itself out. You can place newspapers down the center of the outline you’ve made, however, to protect against the growth of grass and weeds when your plants begin to take root.
Prepare a Foundation
Choosing Bricks
You can build your retaining wall with bricks, concrete blocks
, rough-hewn stones, or machine cut stones. If you buy a diamond-bit circular saw, you can cut the stones yourself and choose whichever shape you like.
What’s important is that you choose stones and bricks that will survive well in wet environments. Bricks may not be well-suited to wet conditions.
For information on stone sizes and makeup, visit your local landscape expert or supplier. They will help you find out your options before you choose the block material
or size. Generally speaking, the recommended height for retaining walls is two to three courses, depending on the stones’ height and the trench’s depth.
Laying the Blocks
Lay the first row of stones or blocks in the center of the trench. Drive each one into the sand with a rubber mallet as you lay it. Then, take the following steps.
Stabilize the Structure
To interlock the blocks, use metal pins. Use a hammer to drive the metal pins through slots in the block.
A Worthwhile Garden Project
As you can see, all the above can get done with a few simple tools and the willingness to put in the work. This project may take a couple of weekends, but it is well worth the time and effort. After the grunt work is over, you will gain a beautiful retaining wall garden for your lawn.
If you’re not confident in your ability to build your own retaining wall garden beds, contact the experts at KG Landscape
to get started on this worthwhile landscaping project today.
The post How to Use Retaining Walls as Planting Beds
appeared first on KG Landscape Management.
Ready to Start on Your Next Project?
Call us at (763) 568-7251 or visit our quote page.
Struggling with side yard water problems in Minneapolis–St. Paul? See when French drains or re-grading works best for small yard drainage fixes.
Protect your Plymouth patio and deck from frost heave by installing French drains that keep clay soil dry around hardscape and footings.
One Edina family had a 25-foot slope and nowhere for their kids to play. See how we turned it into a lawn, sport court, and fire pit.
See how one Plymouth project turned an overlooked side yard into a design feature that matches the rest of the property.
A Plymouth family turned a steep, unusable side yard into a private hot tub area with stone steps, drainage solutions, and boulder walls.
See how a Plymouth family replaced basic builder landscaping with a custom flagstone walkway, strategic plantings, and a front yard that matches their home.
Learn how French drains solve drainage problems in tight Minneapolis side yards without sacrificing walkway space or function.
Stop roof water and sump pump discharge from saturating your Plymouth yard. Learn how to tie everything into one drainage system.
Where All That Water Is Actually Coming From Your backyard stays wet. You've noticed the soggy spots, the mud, maybe some frost heave damage to your patio or fence. You're thinking about French drains. But before you start digging trenches, look up. A huge amount of water hitting your yard isn't coming from rain falling on the lawn. It's coming from your roof. A moderate rainfall on a typical Plymouth home puts hundreds of gallons through your gutter system. Every bit of that water exits through your downspouts. Where it goes from there determines whether you have a drainage problem or not. Then there's your sump pump. Every time it kicks on, it's pushing water out of your basement and into your yard. On a wet property, that pump might run dozens of times a day. All that water has to go somewhere. If your downspouts dump water next to your foundation and your sump pump discharges into a side yard that drains toward your backyard, you're adding water to an already saturated situation. French drains alone might not be enough. You need to manage the sources. The Problem With Surface Discharge Most downspouts in Plymouth end with a splash block or a short extension that dumps water a few feet from the foundation. That's technically moving water away from the house, but not far enough.
Why wooden lake steps always fail—and why Minnetonka and Orono homeowners are switching to stone. A contractor explains the replacement.