Retaining wallsin the garden can have a number of applications, acting as supports for raised flower beds and having decorative qualities. Depending on the material from whichretaining walls are built , they will differ in strength and construction method. See what types of retaining walls are most often used in gardens, what are their advantages and disadvantages and choose the material from which you will build the wall in your garden!
Retaining walls can provide excellent support for a slope planted with plants
What is a retaining wall
Surely each of us has seen whatretaining walllooks like, and some of us haveretaining wallsin their gardens.However, it is worth considering what is such a wall and what is it for? A retaining wall is an element of small garden architecture used for the difference in ground levels, constituting a barrier between the difference of these levels.Retaining walls can be used as seats, on the edges of rebates, when building an indenter (lowered part of the area) on its inner side and also as a support for a rockery. We often meet the walls at the construction of the grill, at the stairs as cheeks (the side part of the stairs), at the fences.
"Retaining wallsare an attractive garden element, they give character to the space. If they are quite long and irregular, they encourage us to walk along their edges and lead our eyes to further corners of the garden. The way of leading such a wall depends on us, and if we want, for example, to optically lengthen the garden, such a wall will be lower at the end of it, and it can often escape into the ground. It can also encourage you to visit a corner hidden behind it, or hide an uninteresting view.If it is a large monolithic wall, its structure will be diversified by a drinker with a decorative gargoyle and hanging vines. In this case, we can be proud of an attractive place, for example, to contemplate in silence. As a permanent element of our green asylum, it is the backbone of the concept and outlines the planting lines. It can also match the color of the building facade or other garden elements. "
Natural stone retaining wall
As you can seeretaining wallstherefore have a number of uses in the garden, being a common element of garden architecture.
How to determine the course of a retaining wall
If we have a garden design that includes the assumptionof a retaining wall , this is half the worry, because the documentation of such a design should contain a sheet with the dimensions of the wall and informing about its course.
"If, however, we want to determine its course ourselves, and we know what shape it will be, I suggest you get a string and stakes for driving into the ground, made e.g.from thicker twigs or wooden parts. All rounding of the wall is determined by marking the center of the arc (after all, the arc is part of a circle), then we attach the string there and on the desired radius we draw an arc on the ground like a compass, marking its points with pegs. I would suggest measuring the geometric wall from the permanent elements in the garden, such as a building or a fence.
"Brick retaining wall
Types of retaining walls
There are several types of retaining walls, namely:
- dry
- bricked
- concrete (monolithic)
- from prefabs
- flower walls
- walls made of baskets (gabions)
The simplest and easiest type of retaining wall isdry retaining wall As the name suggests, it is a dry construction, i.e. without mortar. To make such a wall, we need flat stones, such as sandstone, which we put on top of each other. Remember that the largest stones are at the bottom and the smallest at the top. At the back, we mound soil to plant plants in it. Sometimes a small amount of binder is used and is placed on the rear wall facing the ground. Clay can be used for this purpose. These types ofretaining wallsare the most common edges of the rebate. The height of such a wall can be up to 60 cm.
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A bit more time-consuming task isbrick retaining walls . These are clinker bricks, stones or other construction elements connected with mortar. They require a foundation (just like monolithic walls), the depth of which is as follows:
- Walls up to 60 cm - without foundation
- Walls from 60 to 100 cm - foundation 30-60 cm
- Walls over 100 cm - foundation 80 cm
There are different ways of finishing such a wall as regards the edges where the mortar is visible. They are shown in the pictures below.
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Concrete retaining wallsare uniform monolithic structures. We start their construction with pouring the foundation (depth as mentioned above) and then assembling and setting the formwork. Place an expansion joint made of linoleum, roofing felt or special tapes between the concrete blocks. The dilatation allows the work of individual concrete elements and prevents cracking of the wall. It should be laid at intervals of about 2 meters. If the concreteretaining wallis more than 120 cm high, additional reinforcement should be made inside the monolith of ribbed wire, which is fixed in the foundation.The important thing here is dehydration. It allows the drainage of excess water and prevents the soil layer from flowing over the wall. The finishing of such a wall can be grit, gravel, stone slabs, ceramic tiles. Garden walls above 150 cm are not built - then storeys are used. The figures below show the drainage method and the slopes of the individual wall planes.
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Prefabricated retaining wallsPrefabricated elements are available for sale as ceramic or concrete elements ready to be laid, composed in interesting shapes. Garden lawns are perfect for building such walls. Lawn walls can be a cover for a discount or create an interior for a gravel surface.They are primarily decorative.
Flower retaining wall
Flower wallsare dry retaining walls with perennials woven into them. Plants are placed during or after building a wall. Horizontal gaps in the wall of the structure should be left, which are then filled with earth. Small rock perennials or low bedding perennials are suitable for planting. List of sample species below:
- common periwinkle
- evergreen garment
- creeping bugle
- aromatic violet
- Caucasian geese
- bristle food
- Arends saxifrage
- garden porch
- Gypsophila scattered
- flamed flames
- seaside ring
- mailed food
- sedum plants - varieties
- wall swarm
Gabion retaining walls , i.e. mesh baskets, is another idea to diversify the retaining wall. It has the form of a mesh, densely woven basket with a shape that suits us. Due to its structure, it cannot be too high, but it compensates for its decorativeness. Plants are planted between the meshes to cover the entire interior of the wall and create a colorful background on the outside.
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MSc Eng. landscape architect Agnieszka Socha
