Small, rectangular, flat lots, painfully neat, with one small tree on either side of the sidewalk, which (of course) was precisely in the center of the lot with lots of terracing. That’s all I knew as a child – I thought that only really rich people had big trees. My dream was to live out in the country and in the woods.

Paradise Dreams

So, it was the beginning of a dream come true when Wonderful Husband and I were able to purchase our 2-ish acres of Paradise. The whole place was overrun by brambles, Autumn olives, Japanese honeysuckle, and floribunda roses. We literally did not know the “lay of the land”, but in our hearts, we knew it was beautiful and we loved it already.

We did not realize the lot sloped about 38 feet from the highest point to the little pond. There were also eroded gullies left by the logging which had occurred about 40 years before. And, the soil was actually just sub-soil, heavy clay with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

Lawn Problems

Wonderful Husband, being of mostly German descent, was determined to have a stellar, emerald green lawn. Heroically, he began the strenuous task of creating such a lawn. One steep slope faced west and was the bane of his existence. The torrential spring rains washed the grass seed down the hill. The scorching summer sun and the months’ long droughts killed the grass which had managed to grow. He met all setbacks with stoic, Germanic determination.

For years, he tried fertilization, aeration, irrigation and re-seeded over and over and over again. He’s a stubborn man, but not a stupid one. Finally, he realized that no matter how hard he tried; grass was simply not going to grow there.

So, for a couple of years, the slope was a brown eyesore right in front of the house while he considered his options. Finally (Eureka!) he had an inspiration! He would terrace the slope with a series of shallow retaining walls. I had suggested the same thing several years before, but being a saintly and patient wife, I gently agreed that retaining walls seemed like a good, even a brilliant, idea.

Terracing to the rescue!

Being frugal (translation: tight as Mr. Scrooge), we agreed we would do the job ourselves. That decision meant that we wouldn’t build the walls too high – thus avoiding building permits and digging two-foot deep footings. Since we were “doing-it-ourselves,” hiring contractors to build forms and pour concrete walls was ruled out. Wooden walls would quickly rot, even as they attracted termites – so no wood.

I would have loved to install dry – stacked natural stone, but stone is expensive. We would have had to make countless trips to the stone yard with my Subaru pulling our two-thousand-pound capacity little garden trailer. Did I mention we would have had to unload each stone by hand? The other option was to pay for a big truck to deliver the stone all at once. After considering all of the above, I decided I could live without the stone.

Brick or block became the best options. Block comes in a variety of sizes, shapes and shades and we had already used blocks in other areas, so blocks it would be. We decided to use blocks already on hand, scavenging them from other garden beds that we were planning to re-do.

DIY Terracing

After deciding where the retaining walls would be installed and with what materials, the next step was to cut out the side of the hill enough so that we could install the blocks. This was accomplished in the broiling sun over three summers. Tree roots, black gnats and being soaked through with sweat did not deter us. Well, really, we should have been deterred, but were too stubborn to quit.

I would gather six 33.3 -pound blocks at a time, load them in the little garden cart which was hitched to our John Deere lawn tractor / mower, transport them to the work area and unload them. Wonderful Husband has many faults (just ask me, I’ll tell ya!), but he can really lay blocks and make it look like a professional job: four beautiful retaining walls two to four blocks high, nice and level – with one more to go.

We gathered all the extra soil we had and added year-old compost to it. We used our little Mantis tiller to mix it all together and it made some pretty good soil. Next, we shoveled wood chips from the back of the property (again using our trusty, rusty garden cart pulled by the tractor / mower) and mulched the beds thoroughly.

Decorating

We even managed to select and plant several B & B evergreens without arguing – another miracle!

So far, the terraced beds and the organic matter we added seem to have stopped erosion due to heavy rains. Another benefit? I can finally have a full-sun garden! And, Wonderful Husband promises that I can finally have the water feature I’ve dreamed about for the last twelve years. That will be something to write about – IF it ever happens.

What advice would I give you if you were considering retaining walls? Call a contractor!

Stay Green, Good Friends.