How the Plantings, Stone Edging & Retaining Wall Came Together
This front yard needed a new retaining wall, stone edging and new planting, and the homeowners wanted all three done as one job. We built the wall and edging first, then planted about 50 grasses, dwarf crape myrtles, shrubs and perennials around them. The whole front took two working days.
One Front Yard Job Instead of Three Separate Projects
The homeowners wanted to fix several parts of their front yard at once. The front landscape was a simple mulched bed with some existing plants and stone, and their long driveway had no edging on either side.
They wanted a new front retaining wall, cleaner bed lines and a lot more planting, all done as one job instead of three separate projects. They talked to several landscape companies before choosing us.
Plain Beds and a Long Driveway With No Edges
The beds and the driveway had no clear edges, so the lawn, the mulch and the driveway ran into each other. A new wall on its own would have stood out against the rest of the yard.
Wall and Stone Edging First, Then About 50 New Plants
The front retaining wall went in first, near the house. Joe walked the homeowners through stone options, and they picked the stone for the wall, since it’s one of the most visible things in the front yard. Drainage went in behind it, as on every retaining wall we build. Here’s more on our retaining wall work.
Next came the stone edging. We ran stone edging through the planting beds and edged both sides of the long driveway. Those edges separate the driveway, the lawn, the beds and the wall from each other.
With the wall and edging set, we planted. About 50 plants went in across the front yard: ornamental grasses, dwarf crape myrtles, trees, shrubs and perennials. We mixed plant shapes and sizes instead of repeating one plant down the whole bed. That mix was part of the landscape design and installation from the start.
The completed project included:
- New front retaining wall near the house, stone picked with the homeowners
- Drainage behind the wall
- Stone edging through the planting beds
- Edging along both sides of the long driveway
- About 50 new plants: ornamental grasses, dwarf crape myrtles, trees, shrubs and perennials
- Installation in two working days
The new wall sits near the house, the edging gives every bed and both sides of the driveway a clean line, and the plantings fill in around the stone.
The whole job at this Chesterfield home took two working days. In their review, the homeowners said the entire process exceeded their expectations
Where to Start When Your Beds and Driveway Edges Look Ragged
Stand at the end of your driveway and look back at the house. If you can’t tell where the lawn stops and the beds start, or the driveway edges are ragged, edging is a good place to start. If you’re also planning a wall or new planting, do the wall and edging first and plant last, so the new plants aren’t dug up again.