About Me

Improving Your Home Landscaping

Few things are more frustrating than a messy front yard. In addition to disrupting your curb appeal, overgrown, messy landscaping can also harbor pests and make it look like you don't care about your property. Fortunately, tidying up your yard doesn't have to be difficult. I have spent years learning more about landscaping, and this blog is all about how to become a landscaping enthusiast. Check out these articles about fun topics like planting flowers, perfecting pruned trees, and decorating your yard with whimsical additions. After you know more about landscaping, your yard might become the talk of the town.

Improving Your Home Landscaping

Beautiful Stack Stoned Wall To Enhance Your Landscaping

by Bill Kuhn

A retaining wall is a necessity to tame a slope, making flat places for walking and landscaping while preventing soil erosion. However, that doesn't mean you must have a utilitarian wall installed. A stacked stone wall can be a beautiful addition to your yard. Have contractors build a stone wall to tame your slope and enhance your landscaping.

Stacked Stone Basics

Essentially there are two types of stacked stone walls. The first is the traditional dry stone construction. Popular for centuries in Europe, especially England, construction involves dry walling. Contractors carefully stack the stones without using mortar in a way that keeps the core dry. You can also use boulders to hold the soil back.

The modern method for constructing a wall this way is called dry stacking. With this technique, contractors construct a core of concrete block. They mortar the back of the stones to this core, leaving the front dry stacked. They waterproof the concrete core to maintain the integrity of the wall.

Seat Wall

A stacked stone retaining wall can do more than just hold back your soil. It can also serve another useful purpose, such as providing seating. This is ideal if your wall is near a patio or if it creates a spot for overlooking the vista. You can simply widen the top of your wall for sitting or provide a proper bench. For example, you could have the contractors install a long slab of stone with flat stacked stones as the backrest. Concerning dimensions, the Landscaping Network suggests a height of 18 inches with a seating depth of at least 12 inches. The site also suggests making sure the stones are smooth enough to be comfortable and not snag fabrics.

Landscaping with the Stone Wall

Plants against a stone wall make a beautiful composition. Now that you've created flat areas with your retaining wall, you can utilize them as planting beds. Your design should be based on the overall style of your home and the type of plants that can thrive in your yard's conditions. However, consider utilizing plants that spill over the stone or even grow in the cracks to create that contrast between live greenery and hard stone. For the latter, consider plants such as sea thrift and stonecrop, both of which are adapted to growing in harsh, low-water conditions. It's also possible to plant at the foundation of the wall itself.

Choose either a dry stone or dry stack wall and enhance it with landscaping and a bench for a beautiful addition to your yard.

For more information, you will want to contact a company such as Rock Solid Services LLC.

Share