Big Bend Landscaping presents: a brief list of beautiful retaining wall ideas for your enjoyment. There are many more where these came from. We just couldn’t fit them all into one blog.
There’s nothing mundane or boring about retaining walls. This landscaping feature comes in all shapes and sizes and can be built out of a variety of hardscaping materials. And when you combine it with a carefully planned drainage system, you’ve added value to your home as well. All you have to do is choose look you want.
Let’s talk about retaining wall ideas and possibilities.
Expand patio space with a retaining wall
If you’re ready to expand your outdoor living space, but workable flat space is limited, a retaining wall may be the answer. If it’s sloping away from your patio, a retaining wall can level out the space so that you can build onto it. If it’s sloping toward your home, it can push the soil back and hold it in place, providing you a broader area to build on.
And when needed, you can add a drainage system such as an attractive dry creek bed which will insure that your outdoor living space.
combine with flower beds
Retaining walls can be combined to create a tiered series of flower beds on a slope, giving your yard a unique character and beauty, while also increasing your usable gardening space. Combining a variety of colorful plants that bloom at different times during the season and mixing in evergreen plants means that your gardens will always draw the eye of visitors and family.
Integrate steps
When the purpose of your retaining wall is to contain the soil behind a slope, placing a set of steps between retaining walls is a useful and attractive way to draw attention to the rest of your yard. If you need a retaining wall in the front yard, combine it with a shady paver walkway that leads to your front door, and you’ve created an unspoken invitation to visitors. If you use it in the back, it can provide easy access to the rest of your yard.
Add Seating
Anytime a low-profile retaining wall is placed near a patio, you’ve created a perfect solution to extra seating problems. But with the addition of a built-in bench, some weatherproof cushions, potted plants, and outdoor decorations, you’ve created a cozy seating wall and have added another enjoy your outdoor living space.
Just Add Fire—
—A fire PIT, that is. We’ve already mentioned how easy it is to turn a retaining wall into a seating wall. But if you go one step further and add a fire pit, you’ve given yourself the gift of more time with friends and family in a relaxing setting. People love to gather around a fire and talk by the flicker of flames. After just a few visits, your paver fire pit will quickly become a central part of your outdoor living space.
And there was Light
There’s nothing like stepping out on your patio after dark to take in the gentle glow of the lights brightening the landscape of your home and yard. When added to walls, patios, and walkways, LED cap lighting is an attractive way to increase security and safety and extend your use of your outdoor living space.
Retaining Wall Ideas that Individualize Your Landscape: Mixed Mediums
Paver Retaining walls can easily be assimilated into any landscaping plan. Do you prefer a rustic look? Add walkways or stairs made of large, flat rocks.
Want a more modern look? A clean cut, leveled walkway built from perfectly square pavers will give you the appearance you want.
You can make your outdoor living space as unique as you want by adding a dry creek bed, flower beds bordered with river rock, and more.
Add trailing plants
Retaining wall ideas like this one require some patience. Once your retaining wall has been established, plant trailing plants that—over time—will drape across the top of the wall and eventually wander the sides, creating the sensation that you’re walking through an old growth forest.
Unify different sections of your yard with a retaining wall
Got a yard made up of slopes and flattened areas that look uneven and bare in spots? Retaining walls in the right places can bring the entire yard together, taming those slopes and making it easier to care for.
Use a Retaining Wall: Save a Tree
Not all trees take well to being “walled in,” but those that do, look beautiful behind one and actually benefit from it. Trees that are enclosed by a retaining wall are less likely to be nicked by lawn equipment, and their roots are protected from the elements, receiving more nutrients and water.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve found some retaining wall ideas on this list that appeal to you. We’ll be happy to talk to you about these or any other ideas that you’ve seen and help you decide whether they will fit into your landscaping plans. Give us a call so we can discuss it with you.
Big Bend Landscaping has been building patios, firepits, pathways, retaining walls, seating walls, and drainage solutions in the St. Louis area for over 25 years. We have 62 five-star reviews on Google and an A+ rating with the BBB. Our crews have a Level 1 Certification from the National Concrete and Masonry Association. This means we’re experts in our field. Check out our testimonials to see what our customers are saying about us. We rely on only the highest quality materials such as Belgard, Pavestone, and BP. They all provide a life time guarantee on all their pavers, which means that they will replace any pavers that fail under normal wear and tear.
Our experts can come to you and help you design an outdoor living space you will never want to leave. We will give you a CAD drawing of the space we discussed and the projected costs. Once we start the job, you will find us to be efficient and clean. And we will never make a change without discussing it with you first.
Big Bend Landscaping knows how to help you make the most of your outdoor living space. When you’re ready to make a change, check out our website for more details and contact us for more information!