I have a yard almost exactly like this though grade is less steep. I plan to terrace, half moon terrace for the fire pit, green house in the corner, and a flat part under the deck for additional patio
I’m sorry I have tons of pictures but I’d rather not post pics of my parents entire home. I can try to get separate pics of the fire pit, grill and chill area under the deck, the hammock and or a picture from under the deck looking into the backyard but I am not going to post a picture of my parents house because I post stupid shit on here and I don’t want idiots searching / finding my parents house. I will never underestimate the power of the internet
I used to build things like this with a guy. It was so fun. We built out a gravel patio at the top of this hill that he had mulched and gardened. It was beautiful but you couldn’t get a truck anywhere near it. We lugged I think 2 yds of gravel up there bucket by bucket. Their house was basically 3 stories with the bottom being the garage then two floors above. You could look down on the roof of the house from the area we were climbing to. Probably the most sore I’ve ever been.
I had a front yard like this that was hell to mow with a regular push mower, We sold it because at 25 I the wife and the only one that felt responsible about the yard, was having trouble keeping it up and there was no way in my later years I'd ever be able to do it. The people that bought it let it go all natural and it's now a jungle and you can't see the house anymore. I can't blame them but it was the super lazy way to deal with the front yard and it looks like crap from what google images is showing.
I went to the most redneck 4th of July slip in slide that did this years ago. It was awesome. They used hay bails with tarps to keep the track in line while you go down, and then made a pool at the bottom.
Look at how significant your neighbors wall is and how it basically accomplished nothing. You would need a wall about twice as high if you want to create an actual usable flat space in your yard. I know these things because I do this every day and I’ve been doing it for over a decade. I am a landscaper not an armchair joker like everyone else in this group. Your hill looks too steep to park an excavator on if there even is access to get it into the backyard. So it looks to me that it would all have to be dug by hand which is going to require it to take a lot more time and money I’d estimate it would cost you somewhere around $15,000 and you’d end up with maybe a few feet of flat area that you could set up some cornhole, or something like that on the edge of the 10ft wall. I just don’t know if it’s actually worth it and it would actually be something you would want for that much money and it would have to be built very well perfectly correct with excellent drainage for it to not become a headache a few years down the road. If you wanted the entire backyard terraced just do that math. Maybe 3, ten foot walls with steps going down the middle. You’re talking, at least $55,000, probably more. And DO NOT forget that gardens REQUIRE work to maintain. If you’re paying a company to come do that it’s going to be a few thousand annually and the landscapers themselves will hate having to work at your steep property.
I recommend planting some trees that you like. Put varieties that will get tallest farther down the hill and smaller more ornamental type trees farther up the hill. Trees don’t require as much maintenance, usually just some pruning rather than having to use shears and rakes and all that.
Yes. I'm thinking that for flat ground, my best option is the area right at the top by the house – either a bit of a retaining wall there and a patio, or another deck level. For the rest of the yard though, perhaps it can be much smaller "terraces" – I'm seeing a lot of recommendations for a product called Dirt Locker.
One of the first things I'd want to do is build a deck level with the back sliding doors that is almost as wide as the house and out to the top deck pillars. Then you'd have a partially covered outdoor living space. You could even screen that in if you have any bugs, and maybe extend the covered area with a pergola. Then begin the terraced garden path leading down from some stairs off the side of the deck. Not all of it would need to be terraced with hardscaping, and you could use plants that do well around slopes and rocks, like creeping phlox. A waterfall fountain feature (not a pond, just a waterfall) would be relatively easy to pull off with some flagstone and a small water reservoir with a pump.
If it does get terraced, make sure you have some really sturdy retaining walls as well as some really well designed drainage, or you're going to end up with chasms all over the place where water washes everything out.
Do you know your stratigraphy, such as how deep the top soil goes and what is below it?
Terraces are great until the retaining walls start to fail. More permanent retaining walls require significant investment but will last as long as the house.
Please for the love of God if you get a retaining wall put in even you terrace it get someone who knows that they're doing. Get an engineering firm to do intermittent checks on it. A great way to destroy you home and back yard is a badly done retaining wall
3.4k
u/basic-midwest-man 4d ago
Terrace and appreciate the hell out of the fact you’ll never have water in the basement