Reducing soil erosion, turning steep slopes into terraced backdrops, creating focal points in the landscape—retaining walls serve many purposes. Indeed, they are some of the most common ways to ...

Question: Everyone in my subdivision uses man-made blocks for the retaining walls they installed on the sloping parts of their yards. I do not like the look of these concrete blocks and want to use ...

Size the trench so there's enough room for the retaining wall block and at least 8 in. of space behind it. Excavate deep ...

Last week I wrote about my recent trip to Southern California. I was fortunate to spend time with a dear friend and his wife. I don’t know that I’ve ever met a person who’s more in love with a home ...

Retaining walls can do more than add a polished look to your landscape. They also help tame slopes, reduce soil erosion, and even create usable garden beds or extra seating areas. In fact, when ...

Retaining walls were first created to perform the simple and necessary task of holding back earth. And with good reason: Erosion is a natural process, but when it means soil being washed off your ...

Many years ago, when I was young and foolish, I decided to build an 80-foot long terrace for fruit trees, and to edge it with a nice fieldstone retaining wall using stones I could find on my property ...

Your garden wants bones as much as blossoms. Edges that hold their line when the winter rain turns paths to porridge, and a place for birds and beetles to tuck in. A dry‑stone wall built from natural ...

Q: My beautiful stone retaining wall has sprung leaks during these recent rainstorms. How can I fix the problem? Rockville, Md. A: Your wall is probably just fine. If it were a leakproof dam without ...