Building Stone Walls for Your Yard

Lead Image for Building Stone Walls for Your Yard
  • Beginner
  • 400-2,5000
What You'll Need
String
Stakes
Trowel
Tamper
Ivy and Plants
Herbs
Spade
What You'll Need
String
Stakes
Trowel
Tamper
Ivy and Plants
Herbs
Spade

Building stone walls in your garden is not a difficult task by any means. Stone is quickly becoming a popular medium for bringing gardens to life and adding depth to them. This stone wall design does not require any cement or concrete, using soil and plants to hold everything together in a unique way.

Choose Rocks

Choose stones and rocks that are flat and that fit in well with the rest of the landscape that you have chosen. You can also use bricks for building this wall if you choose. A good place to look for flatter types of rocks is in a stone quarry.

Create Soil

Now you should create the soil that is going to be used within the stone wall. You can do this by mixing good planting soil with compost. Make sure that you are also mixing in some basic gravel, which will help with allowing for proper drainage.

Insert Stakes

Now you should insert the stakes where you are intending for your wall to begin as well as end. Run a string between the stakes to mark out where your wall is going to be. Dig down into the ground, forming a trench that is around 4 inches in depth along the entire length of the string, filling it with gravel. Make sure to tamp down the base so that it is stable as well as firm.

Fit Rocks Together

Now you should fit the rocks of your wall together over their base, leaving about an inch or so between each of the rocks. Cover each of the layers of rock with approximately one inch of the soil mix that you previously created. You should be staggering the rocks as you put them down. Make sure to leave bigger spaces where you intend to plant larger plants. You can finish the top of the wall off with the remaining soil, creating another place for you to place some plants.

Tuck Plants In

Now you will tuck herb plants, flowering plants and other types of plants in all of the spaces that you created. As you find extra spots, fill them in with more soil, tamping everything in for stability. Use the trowel or your fingers to push the plants in as far as you can get them. You should be watering at the top and allowing the water to roll down along the entire length of the wall, bringing water to all of the various plants that you have planted there.

This stone wall design takes advantage of the natural strength of the earth and the plants tucked between the walls to build a strong stone wall in a unique manner.