After the construction of our house, there are a lot of stones left. Instead of taking the boulders outside the property, we decided to use them. The idea to use them for flower borders was a hit. The excavated stones are porphyry - broken. They have various shapes and thanks to this natural heterogeneity, the backyard walls have acquired a unique character. My husband chose all the stones very carefully. We used the larger ones for the walls, and the smaller ones - for the edges. In turn, the ones with an unusual shape or too angular we crushed.
How to build walls?
Due to the poor permeability of the soil, the area for the wall has been properly prepared. We dug a trench about 20-30 cm deep, in which we poured a concrete foundation 20 cm thick. In places where the terrain was sloping, we made a drainage of about 20 cm. It was buried with coarse-grained gravel with a tube embedded in the lowest part of the wall (photo 1).
The area between the gravel and the slope was additionally covered with a layer of sand. It naturally increased the permeability of the substrate and leveled the slope angle (photos 2, 3). There we planned not very high walls (about 10 cm, at the highest point 20 cm). They constitute a natural end of the slope.
My husband used a cement-lime mortar for binding. The joints between the stones were also filled with it. We left some soil in front of the wall, and paving stones were placed around the strip. It will allow us to mow the lawn around the rocky slope.
Edging rebate
We started the work by digging a trench about 20-30 cm deep. It is in it that we put the stones on the cement mortar. We chose specimens with a relatively uniform shape. We did not supplement the joints with any material. In this way, we obtained a more natural effect of our rock discounts. Just like in front of the walls, here too, we put the concrete cubes neatly. Now the wheels of the mower move freely around the bed. To make trimming the grass easier, the edges of the stone edging have arched ends. Thanks to this, we do not have to use a trimmer or scissors in less accessible places.
Dorota Zawada-Mroczka
