After transforming their front garden with WoodBlocX planters, our customer’s Ruth and James decided to redesign their new-build back garden, adding structure and character with a low retaining garden wall.
Ruth and James’ low retaining garden wall
Ruth and James’ new-build back garden had a steadily increasing slope on one side and with limited sunshine the grass was becoming patchy. With a narrow patio and unruly grass it required a complete facelift to increase its functionality, usability and overall aesthetics. The outline plan was to put a shed in the back corner and design a structure that allowed planting space and shallow steps to access the shed.
Planning the Garden
Ruth and James started planning the garden by initially assessing the aspect of the garden and where the sun moved during the day in both summer and winter. This helped to identify areas suitable for storage such as a shed, seating area, dining, entertaining, planting and areas that required additional shade.
In the mornings the sun streams into the patio doors throughout the year which means they can have breakfast on the patio. They decided to extend the patio area, and install a lean-to pergola against the house which in time would generate shade and interest with climbing plants.
In the evenings the last sun spot is the top left of the garden so it was essential that this was maximised for a seating area.
This left a shaded corner at the top of the L-shape, and highest point of the garden, which was perfect for a large shed. However being the tallest point in the garden it required tiering, or another option would be to remove the excess soil.
Ruth and James had previously used WoodBlocX for their front garden update and decided to use a bespoke WoodBlocX wall design to tier the rear garden. Their design changed throughout the planning process to ensure they got exactly what they needed. Amending designs is no problem for our team – they loved the idea of tiering the garden to create steps and a path to the shed, planters to add colour and texture, and to provide additional interest with segmenting the garden.
Preparation and building
The tiering structure took a long weekend to install mainly due to the amount of digging required to achieve the levels they wanted. With intuitive layer by layer building instructions and ease of constructing, the retaining garden wall came together in a matter of hours!
Ruth and James are advocates of WoodBlocX! They were so impressed with the ease of design and build of their first project, WoodBlocX was their first choice when considering the back garden. The ability to add in a curved planter within the retaining wall design was a huge selling point to move away from using just straight lines.
Finished Garden
Ruth and James were able to completely transform their space with WoodBlocX, creating the perfect path to the shed, and plenty of space for plants and pots. The low, tiered retaining wall gives the new-build garden some much needed structure and a focal point around the shed.
They are taking their time to choose the right combination of plants, however they are really pleased with how it is coming together, and hope to create a colourful cottage garden over the next few years.
To begin they have added these plants:
- Athyrium niponicum f.metallicum ferns (base filler)
- Nepeta x faassenii ‘Junior Walker’ (base filler)
- Anemone × hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’ (mound forming)
- Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Blue Spire’ (Spikes)
- Lupinus luteus (Spikes)
- Wall / Fence Fillers – David Austin Gertrude Jekyll Climbing Roses
Key design features
Ruth and James' low level retaining wall is a great design as it was affordable and easy to build in a weekend! The modern capping gives the design a sleek finish and the integrated curved planter provides ample planting space to soften the garden fence. The dual-purpose low retaining wall design combines tiered levels to create a step whilst helping to retain the raised shed base.
WoodBlocX low retaining garden walls
WoodBlocX retaining walls can be built at numerous heights up to 1.05m, however our low retaining walls are a great option for adding tiers or improving the look of garden borders or old walls. Whether you're completely removing it or want to face it up with a fresh new look, we're here to help!
