The Heberts were looking for a way to conceal the large exposed foundation on the front of their home as well as eliminate the large change in elevation from their driveway to their front door. They also wanted to give their north west Austin home a more modern style and increase its resale value. We decided on a large cinderblock and Corten steel retaining wall that would contain a paved pathway and three large garden beds planted with low maintenance plants such as Texas Sage, Red Yuccas and Mexican Feather Grass. The bed on the right use a single focal Alphonse Karr Clumping Bamboo that goes exceedingly well with the modern motif. To begin we poured and 12 inch concrete foot below ground level to support the wall, due to the changes in elevation we needed to add several steps into the footing to ensure it would be out of sight upon completion. On top of our footing we built two large boxes out of cinderblock 8x8x16’ and cinderblock capstones to give a modern slightly industrial look.

To join the two boxes we installed a very large 24×5 ft piece of Corten to ensure a seamless steel face for the central garden bed. A perforated pipe bedded in gravel was laid behind the length of the wall to ensure good drainage and prevent future damage to the wall from hydrostatic pressure. We converted an existing irrigation zone to Drip Irrigation pipe and ran the line through a PVC sheathing built into the wall below grade. The Corten and the bamboo beds were then filled with rich, quick draining soil, covered in landscaping fabric, installed drip irrigation and the plants then mulched the beds with a Hardwood Mulch. The box containing the pathway was back filled with sandy loam under the paths with 12 inches of good dark soil under the planted areas. Once the backfill was leveled we installed a few desert plants.

The front of the yard used a beautiful arrangement of various drought resistant plant offerings. Once again, the angles were straight and boxy and complemented the modern motif quite well. In the back yard, we established a privacy from the neighbors on the left side with a lush planting of more Clumping Bamboo. With time and care those plants will be anywhere between 15-30′ tall, depending on fertilization and watering.