Stone-paved garden oasis

When we laid out the garden for our newly built house, we immediately felt that the plot became a bit flat and boring. We have therefore chosen to raise a corner of the garden with the help of a retaining wall. On the elevation itself, there should be walkways, planter boxes, berry bushes and flowering plants. The wall and the stairs up to the elevation will be illuminated and a corridor with stepping stones will lead up to the stairs and these will also be illuminated. With both flowering plants and numerous berry bushes and planters, this will be an inviting place for the whole family.

It all really started more as a whim when we were digging for the hedge and didn't know what to do with all the soil. A spontaneous decision led us to decide to put the soil in a corner of the plot to later create life in the plot with an elevation where we could have planter boxes in our own small cultivation corner.

Since we built a driveway, patio and wall at the front of the plot (see the project "No more small gravel in the hall"), we wanted to create a cohesive style on the plot and we have chosen the retaining wall Benders Megawall graphite with smooth top stones. The wall is edged with Bender's Ocala, gray, to make mowing the lawn easy. The stairs up to the riser are made of granite block steps and the walkways up the riser are made of Benders Ocala, gray, and edged with cobblestone (graphite antique). From our wooden deck, Steppingstones (antique grey) will show the way to the elevation. The wall and stairs will be illuminated and so will part of the stepping stones.

The work started with us digging a reasonably wide and deep trench so that we could lay down gravel to get a stable foundation for the wall.

A good groundwork is essential when tinkering with paving. We therefore laid down a thick ground cloth at the bottom of the dug trench. We then filled up with plenty of gravel which we vibrated down in several rounds (a total of approx. 10 cm of gravel when packed together). Before using the toad, we watered the gravel so that the particles would bind together more easily.

When the gravel was well packed and the foundation was reasonably level, it was time to start laying stones. Each stone was measured with a spirit level and pounded into place with a rubber mallet. Each stone was fitted to the stone next to it with the spirit level. Take your time in this step! As soon as the foundation is laid, the stones click into each other and it goes very quickly, but if the foundation is wrong, there is a risk that everything will have to be taken down and redone.

When the foundation stones are in place, the other stones can quickly be placed there. Finally, we laid a smooth top stone as we did not intend to have any Mega cover stones on this wall.

A hole in the wall was left for granite blocks to form a staircase. Each block step was then carefully placed in place and measured with a spirit level. Between each step, new gravel was vibrated down so that the step would lie stably in place. To move the block steps, we used a transport trolley. The step was put in place with the help of boards.

Since we want a reasonably easy-to-maintain plot, we laid two rows of Benders Ocala along the wall to make it easy to cut the grass. The earthwork consisted of adding a little extra gravel, but because the space was so narrow, it could not be shoveled down, but was trampled down with the feet.
A tip might be to cast the outer edge of paving stones because they slide apart easily otherwise and create large spaces between the stones (this has happened to us).

Considering that we will have both lighting along the wall, we buried pipes with electric cables but also a pipe with a water hose so that we can easily water all the plants that will be on the elevation. We then built a pillar where transformers for the lighting and the water faucet were installed.

In order to have as little waste of surface as possible, we built an edge against the hedge with wood. It was made in stages and covered with ground cloth to make it maintenance-free. Each step must then be filled with cover bark so that the ground cloth is not visible.

We filled the elevation with soil and flattened it before marking the intended paths with wire attached to small sticks.

Where the walkways would be, we dug out some extra soil and primed with soil cloth, then laid on gravel which we flattened with the soil vibrator. The aisles consist of Benders Ocala ground stone and when all the aisles are in place they are cut with an angle cutter with a diamond blade. All aisles were edged with cobblestone (granite) which was held in place with a concrete border.

The planter boxes, which are hexagonal, were carved together and then painted inside with oil and outside with house paint to make it all match. The boxes were then placed out on the elevation.

Around the planter boxes we wanted decorative stone and the choice fell on tumbled gray decorative stone in size 13-15 mm. Before the decorative stone was put on, ground cloth was laid out on the entire elevation so that we would avoid as much of the weeding as possible. We slightly underestimated how much was needed and even though we filled up with 10 new sacks, it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra.

The fun started last spring when the elevation was filled with plants. The planning boxes were filled with strawberries, potatoes, sugar snap peas, onions and carrots. Strawberry plants were planted along the wall, which quickly grew. Up on the rise but close to the wall, currant bushes were planted in one section while another holds raspberries. Closest to the hedge on the long side are three different types of daylilies.

Summer is coming to an end and we have been enjoying what the elevation has given us all summer. Next year hopefully an even better harvest awaits and that this will be a place to love has become all but obvious as all the children love to hang out at this garden oasis. The children have fun eating all the good vegetables and berries, running around and playing in the small roundabout, watering plants or just enjoying the view from the small bench. I myself walk around up there and enjoy all the flowers and in the evening you can look out and marvel at how cozy a corner can become with a little stone and lighting.

On the elevation, water is now easily available for all plants via the faucet that comes out of the pillar. It can also be mentioned that we have created a roundabout in the middle of the elevation where we planted roses and ornamental grass. This part is quite new and needs to grow to reach its full potential.

Below are also pictures of the stepping stones that lead up to the elevation. We have drilled holes in every second stepping stone and put in a lamp. To bring everything together into a whole, the elder bush has also been given a nice frame with cobblestone (same as on the elevation).

The lighting makes it cozy in the evening