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project. new retaining wall and living wall 

date. Summer 2020, extended work completed 2021

location. Higher Walton, Lancashire 

specification. The brief at Higher Walton in South Ribble was to redesign an area in the garden that was both sloped and hard to maintain. We designed two retaining walls, one larger to hold up the lawn and a smaller living wall opposite to compliment the garden. We returned six month later to extend the retaining wall to the top of the garden, finished with two traditional cheek ends.

I began by manoeuvring the original huge boulders from the old retaining wall into the foundations of the two new walls. I used locally sourced new stone for the rest of the build.  I started with the largest (9m long,  1.1m high tapering to ground level), back filling it and sowing new grass seed once built. Once established the lush new lawn will be a lot easier to maintain.

Parallel to it I completed the second smaller (6m long, 1.1m high tapering to ground level ) wall using alpines in the sides and top to add colour throughout the growing season. I’ve used alpine plants in and on top of our walls now for several years now. For this job I sourced them from a local Yorkshire specialist (and award winning) alpine plant centre -  Slack Top Nurseries at Hebden Bridge - https://www.slacktopnurseries.co.uk/index.php  

The plants themselves thrive in the well-drained crevices of the wall and along their top where the foliage and flowers can be seen to their best effect. I would always avoid plants that develop large, strong root structures that could potentially damage the structure of the wall. If you’re considering it the RHS offer some good advice on suitable plants and a few practical considerations - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=961  

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