Transformation Tuesday: Natural Walls

Part one of a 2 part series.

On this Transformation Tuesday the client had a backyard that was a blank slate. Even though it wasn’t the biggest yard, we had a great design that not only made the yard look bigger, but made it more functional.

The house had a porch that was a lot higher than the surrounding area. We had to address this before we could do anything else. A landscape block wall that was 5 blocks high was installed. This allowed us to backfill the area around the porch and make it level. Once the block and caps were cut, placed, and glued; it was time to bring in the backfill dirt.

As you can guess it took a lot of wheelbarrows and a lot of dirt to fill it in! Butterfly bush and cotoneaster were chosen to fill in the area outside of the porch. The butterfly bush's height not only provides eye-level blooms during the summer months but also provides a privacy screen.

Next, on the lower level: Hall's Honeysuckle was planted against the existing coyote fence. Planting the Honeysuckle every several feet will eventually create a natural wall of Honeysuckle. We laid the weed barrier down on both levels and started bringing in wheelbarrows of gravel. Large, multicolored stones were chosen on the lower level since the client already had the same kind of rock in other parts of the property. On top, we went with 3/8" Pueblo Rose to add a nice contrast of size, colors, and textures.

Finally, we filled the dry river bed next to the porch with 2-4 inch river rock. The client was extremely happy with how the now-level yard looked. Keep an eye out for next week's Transformation Tuesday to see part 2!