Making Your Garden Look Fantastic

Making Your Garden Look Fantastic

Hardscaping Tips: What to Consider When Building a Stone Retaining Wall

Philip Newman

Adding a retaining wall to your exterior space is an excellent way of increasing the curb appeal of your home. Retaining walls are beneficial for both aesthetic and non-aesthetic purposes. When used on a sloped exterior space, they can turn it into an eye-catching focal point in your garden or front porch. Additionally, they reduce soil erosion by minimising and managing stormwater runoff. Retaining walls also enhance your landscape and increase its functionality. If you are thinking about adding a stone wall in your garden, you need to consider the following things so that you can get the best out of the new feature.

Choose quality stone

A retaining wall should be a large, heavy-duty structure that can withstand stormwater, storms, and other forms of inclement weather. That's why you need high-quality stone for the construction. Note that not all types of stones out there are suitable for this feature. Some stones may be suitable for making pathways, patios, pool tiles, and accent rocks, but they may not be the best choices for a retaining wall. In this case, some of the best options include limestone, sandstone, bluestone, quartzite, and fieldstone. Talk to a landscaping expert so that they can help you explore the best stones available in your area for constructing a retaining wall.

Think about the design

Just because you are putting up a retaining wall doesn't mean that the feature should stick out like an eyesore in your garden. A retaining wall is not just intended to hold soil in place and reduce erosion; it should increase curb appeal to your home. For this reason, you should think beyond the standard wall design and come up with a creative style. For example, you can have the wall curve in various areas to add visual interest to the garden. Stain the stone with colours that complement other landscaping features such as the flowers, walkways, or even the exterior space of the house. Doing this can go a long way in making this feature look beautiful and appealing.

Construct correctly

The construction of a retaining wall determines its durability and functionality. Scale the wall to size to avoid having a feature that sticks outside the elevated portion of land. Also, make sure that the wall is not too tall. A stone retaining wall that's more than around 4 feet will be at risk of toppling or leaning to one side in the future. Additionally, keep a safe distance from trees whose roots have the potential to grow into the wall. That's because the roots can push against the wall and cause it to topple after some years.

Stone walling for your garden requires careful consideration; therefore, you should not do it yourself. Contact a landscaping contractor to help with material choice and installation so that you can enjoy the benefits of this remarkable feature in your garden.


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About Me
Making Your Garden Look Fantastic

Hello! My name is Ronald and this is my landscaping blog. Today, I would like to discuss the topic of landscaping and how you can make your garden and the grounds of your property look great. When I was growing up, we didn't have a garden. We lived in a city centre apartment so all my mother had was a few plant pots on the balcony. I knew that when I grew up, I wanted a big garden all of my own. When I bought my new house, I contacted a landscaping company and I worked closely with them to plan the design of my garden. I am so happy. It looks great.

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