Wall Wonders: Embracing the Charm of Retaining Walls

 Lets talk about all the amazing benefits of incorporating retaining walls into your landscape. The new options for prefabricated decorative and modular retaining walls as opened up the possibilities to near endless.  The can be used for everything from short or tall planter beds, bed borders, garden beds to lifting entire areas of turf that protect tree roots, terracing, as well as protect from flooding and prevent both large scale and slow soil erosion. 

In Houston, an area prone to large Oak trees and periodic flooding retaining walls can be incredibly important in protecting tree roots like the one we installed to protect this 100 plus year old Live Oak tree in Houston's historic River Oaks.  Without a retaining wall we would not have been able to lift this entire area where the roots lay bare from long years of growth and erosion.  The life span of this tree has now been greatly increased and this gravity wall retaining wall is completely stable with the use of basic adhesives and by following best practices.  There is a commercial grade french drain at the base which helps shuffle excessive water out of the area in times its needed.  We included shade tolerant, drought and cold hardy plants into the landscape design as well as ornamental grasses to also prevent erosion since the area is still slightly slanted.  In order to protect the roots we brought in a concrete specialist to carve out back pockets in the stone in order to keep the roots safe while keeping the continuity of the wall.  Not only will the beauty of this wall last the lifetime of this tree but the owners have increased the value of their property far beyond the cost of installation.

Other possibilities for pre-fabricated retaining wall material:

• Bed Borders

• Terracing

• Planter beds

• Garden/Vegetable planters

• Steps and stairs

• Platforms

• Firepits

• Seating areas

• Hiding unsightly structures on the property