Keep reading for some tips on elevating your landscape with retaining walls.
People often see retaining walls just to hold back soil on a slope. But, with some imagination, you can use them for more. A retaining wall can create space for patios or seats with a fire pit. You can also plant flowers, trees, and shrubs on the tiered sections for a pop of color.
Do you want to transform your boring retaining wall into a wall that pops with color and serves as an outdoor destination space for family and friends? If so, keep reading for some tips on elevating your landscape with retaining walls.
What Are Retaining Walls?
While segmental blocks and natural stones provide dramatic statements for your property, retaining walls’ functions lie in their ability to hold back soil, prevent erosion, and handle excess rainwater. If you have a slope in your yard, a retaining wall adds more value to your landscape than simply holding back soil.Â
How can retaining walls be decorative and useful beyond the basics? They add usable flat space that can be turned into seat walls with fire pits, patios, or more turf areas. Retaining walls also provide depth and interest by creating a tiered garden with trees, shrubs, and other plants. It also makes better use of landscaping space. It’s not just a slope anymore that’s hard to maintain.
Using Retaining Walls In Your Garden Bed Design
Retaining walls can be used in garden bed design. Your retaining wall garden can include boulders, flower beds, outdoor lighting, and water features. Want to add some drama? Include cascading plants, which grow over the retaining wall edges and provide color and a pleasant fragrance. Consider a dry stacked stone wall to give your wall garden design a rustic feel. If you need to move water away from your home, consider a dry creek bed with fieldstone or incorporate a babbling brook and waterfall.
Retaining Walls As Multi-Purpose Seating
Add a second patio or half-circle seat walls with a fire pit to make your retaining wall multi-purpose. Seat walls are a must-have for an outdoor gathering space, especially if you invite many friends and family to your get-togethers. Natural stone is a conversation starter, and when coordinated with patio pavers, it creates a look unique to your landscape. Don’t forget to add a stairway to connect the different levels of your retaining walls. You can also add outdoor lighting to your retaining walls to enjoy the outdoors well into the evening. Add outdoor cushions and pillows that pop with color to make your seat walls comfortable.
Erosion Control
The main job of the retaining wall is to hold up an embankment. When you add native plants on the retaining walls’ tiered sides, you improve the look of your landscape and boost the wall’s function. The plant roots further enforce erosion control. If you want a layered look to your landscape, consider tiered garden beds with multiple levels that provide a dramatic focal point.
A tiered landscape provides height, depth, visual appeal, and diverse plants, such as native perennials, shrubs, and trees.
Interested in Improving Your Outdoor Living Space? Consider Landscape and Hardscaping Design Services from Carroll Landscaping
Carroll Landscaping has over 30 years of experience with landscape construction, porch construction, deck building, and hardscape installation. Our award-winning landscape designers are passionate about providing customers with top-notch service and landscape design. Our landscape designers have a creative design outlook and work as a team with our installation crews to make your vision a reality. We are committed to providing every customer with the highest quality workmanship, professional and knowledgeable service, and creativity in design in order to surpass our clients’ expectations in every aspect of the project.
We serve residents throughout the beautiful state of Maryland including Baltimore, Columbia, Ellicott City, Eldersburg, Clarksville, Sykesville, Manchester, Westminster, and Woodstock. For more information and to schedule a consultation with one of our expert designers, contact us online or give us a call at 410-922-2416.