Love Your Landscape  – April 2018

Retaining walls can be functional and also just enhance your landscape. There are many options for style, color, texture, material and cost.

Function and necessity are usually the reasons for the installation of a retaining wall but in many situations retaining walls add depth and character to a sloped or steeply-graded area.

The installation of a retaining wall can be very labor intensive and the length of the project usually is determined by the material chosen. Options for materials include natural stone, SRW Block, veneer block, stucco, free staked wall block, railroad ties, landscape timbers and large boulders.

Here in Southern Oregon, natural stone retaining walls are usually built out of moss rock or river cobble rock, since these materials are readily available.

One of the most popular materials is free-staking wall block or SRW block, which has come a long way in the past 10 years. Landscape timbers, if used in the right application and spot, can have a very clean look. And large boulders are effective for large amounts of square footage that need to be retained.

This is a great time of year to consider adding a retaining wall and loving your landscape!