Garden Project #1- A Front Yard Garden Retainer Wall (Article #2)
Article #2 – by Daryl D.
Garden Project – A Front Yard Garden Retainer Wall.
My strong fence is now built so how will I retain the soil and navigate into and up to the top part of the garden? In good design, the “bones” are the most important part, then the function or access for the gardener, and then some aesthetics.
One side on the front of our house is faced in Tyndall stone, which makes a lot of sense in Manitoba, so I wanted to use that type of stone to edge and create tiers in this new garden. There are many resources for landscaping, but as a do-it-yourselfer on a tight budget, I asked a lot of questions on how and where to get Tyndall stone in Manitoba. I was able to order from a local landscape company that was supplied by Gillis Quarries in Garson, Manitoba and later found out that if you have your own truck, you can hand-pick through the rubble pile.
Never having ordered stone or soil (you can say earth but never mud to a gardener), how do I figure out how much I will need? I wanted one course or step of stone for the base outline forming a loose curve – sort of the inside curve of a kidney shape. This would retain the first level of earth and I would build my way inwards towards the top corner of the fence.
This now answers the age-old comment, “Where am I ever going to need high school math?” As I don’t have a burly landscaping assistant of any kind around, I wanted a substantial yet manageable sized stone. If they range from six to nine inches high and deep by about eight to 12 inches wide, it’s about 1/3 to ½ a cubic foot for each stone. So each cubic yard (27 cubic feet) would require approximately 60 – 75 stones.
One of the easiest ways to measure an irregular shape is to lay out a length of hose, then straighten it out and measure for linear feet. Wanting at least three rough tiers, I could then confidently order one cubic yard of Tyndall stone and 15 yards of soil to start this project.
The same basis works for ordering soil. (Funny to see these mountains of soil in people’s yards when they have ordered far too much. The friends with yards are the lucky beneficiaries if they haul it away before it rains.) I had started with sand for a base under the stones but found out after a few years that quarter down would keep the stones from sinking much better – so this was another good lesson learned after lifting them up every few years.
I then visited our local greenhouse and asked many questions on hedges, as I wanted the outside fence side to be hidden in shrubs. I chose cotoneasters, which filled in quickly and thick, so you never know there’s a fence there until you’re in the yard. After 30 years, I still love this garden and it’s a happy surprise to anyone who walks up our sidewalk and sees my wonderful hidden-from- the- street garden that has its own little micro-climate for growing things.
On to the planting!
Garden Location: Daryl’s home garden
Garden drawing and text: Daryl D
Copyright: Daryl D
