Retaining walls help to create more manageable landscapes, levelling out the ground and reclaiming previously inaccessible space. Here are several reasons to construct one on your sloping property.
Increase Your Yard's Usability
With a retaining wall, you can create tiers and plateaus in your yard, adding a sculptured look to your garden. Beneficially, while your actual property perimeter might stay the same, you've added to your yard's usability. On the new flat levels, you could plant a vegetable patch or build an outdoor patio. The extra height will make it a pleasant spot to have breakfast or to read the daily news on your laptop.
Stabilise The Soil
Retaining walls also help to stabilise the earth. On an incline, rainwater can rush down the slope, dragging topsoil in its wake. The water can then collect at the bottom, possibly causing sinkholes and damage to the foundations of nearby buildings. Once you level out the landscape, however, these problems dissipate. The garden will also be healthier as water runoff won't be robbing the soil of nutrients every time it rains heavily.
Decorate Your Yard
Another reason to construct a retaining wall is to embellish your garden with a beautiful hardscape feature. You can use natural stone in a variety of colours: tans, blues, greys and pinks. With large rectangular blocks, you can give your wall an elegant feel. Or else, stack irregularly shaped rocks for a rustic design. Other materials to consider include concrete — in a variety of colours and shapes — and treated timber for a beautiful, natural look.
Can Form Any Shape
It's not only the choice of materials that provide you with creative freedom in designing your retaining wall. You can sculpt and contour your yard in any way you wish. For example, you could create multiple tiers and fill each level with different kinds of plants. Alternately, you could construct higher barriers and fewer of them for a greater stair-step effect.
Don't' forget that the wall can run in straight lines, partitioning off rectangular and square garden beds, for instance. Or the barrier can weave and curve as a river winds through a landscape.
Thus a retaining wall brings a range of benefits, both practical and aesthetic. These structures protect the integrity of the landscape and add decorative hardscape elements. Plus, they increase the usability of your property; you'll enjoy the additional garden beds or outdoor entertainment areas they produce.
