Photo Journal - Hillside Landscaping Vol 1 - Terracing with Wood

Landscaping a hillside can be one of the most difficult landscaping projects. After building my new home in a hillside community in Southern California I was left with a hillside in my backyard that had never been landscaped before.

The primary landscaping idea for was to create as many flat/level areas as possible. Sloped surfaces are very limiting as to the type of plants you can use. So, if you want to have a vegetable garden, a flower bed or walkways you need to make level areas.

The cost of materials was a major concern for my project as the hillside was fairly large. The lowest cost per linear foot for raw material was wood. The primary wood I used was cherrytone landscaping lumber logs, available at Home Depot.

This view is looking up at the terraced vegetable garden and main walkway stairs. The terraced vegetable garden plots varied in height from 2 logs to 5 logs. The number of logs used for each plot depends on the angle of the slope. Most raised plots were 8ft wide by 4ft deep. I used these dimension to minimize the number of cuts to the logs.

The height of each log is approximately 3" high. Stacking 2 high makes for a comfortable stair step. The logs are flat on 2 sides for easy stacking. I cut 2ft lengths for the posts so you can get 4 posts per log. Cut posts ends to a point for easy piling of the posts.

The garden plots do not have many vegetables growing now, as these photos were taken in November. It doesn't look like much now but I got quite a good harvest this past summer. The taste of fresh vegetables alone is worth the cost to build these vegetable beds.

This view looks across the width of my yard and walkway. The wood log wall to the right provides a nice flower bed. I planted marigolds and strawberries there this last year. I am going to move the strawberries down the hillside and put in Tulips and other bulb flowers in their place next spring.

The walkway consists of paving stones and redwood bark. The wood logs on the left are not staked but do provide a finished edge to the walkway

This detail shows the construction of a corner. Stagger the logs to interlock and make a stronger wall.

Old flower pots were also placed around the ends of the stairs. The soil in my yard was has a lot of clay in it and some of the plants I wanted to grow don't do well. So, instead of buying a lot of furtilizer, I bought potting soil and flower pots. I think they add a nice touch to the yard.

Stepping stonesare placed between the raised garden beds and the walkway stairs. They provide a secure place to stand to get into the garden and a platform on which to stand to water from. I've also used paving bricks to edge the walkway as a decorative item.

Ground cover plants will eventually fill in this area. I've also provided a trench on both sides of the walkway to provide drainage for run off water from the garden and walkway.

The paving stones are spaced wide enough for a garden hoe to fit between. This way when weeds start to grow I can use the hoe to remove them easily. The redwood bark filled around the stepping stones keeps the weeds down also and makes it so the watering hose doesn't snag on the corner of the stepping stones.

Note the fence in the background. This gives you an idea of the slope grade. While I have leveled many areas in this yard, I have purposely followed the contours wherever possible. Too many straight lines would give it a less natural look and feeling.

What started out as a project to clear the brush per the cities hillside community requirements and a couple vegetable plots turned into a fairly attractive landscaped backyard.

Wood logs as a landscaping material has many advantages. Even a beginner can be very creative in laying out garden beds. A skill saw, a shovel, a hoe, and a sledge hammer are the only real tools you need. Another advantage is that all this work was done by myself alone. I did not need other bodies to help because the weight of the material was light enough for one person to handle easily.

The disadvantage of using wood logs is that they will rot out or be eaten by termites or other insects given enough time. My lot had several tree stumps before I started landscaping that had been there for over 30 years and were still in pretty good shape. I figure these logs will last at least 10 to 15 years before they need to be replaced.

The finished look is very natural looking. The red tone of the logs against the green ground cover is very attractive to me. As time goes by I expect the aging of the wood to blend in with the hillside. This project took several weekends to complete and converted a weed filled fire hazard into a productive and beautiful garden.

I spent nearly every weekend for the last year landscaping my backyard. Putting in the raised vegetable and flower beds and walkways was a major project but not the only project.

Photography is my favorite hobby. I enjoy landscaping and gardening too, but it is not my favorite activity. I would much rather be out photographing flowers instead of growing them. So, for the time being, until my flower gardens becomes more established, I will use my photography skills in documenting my landscaping projects.

Update: Be sure to see Volume 2 to see new uses of landscaping with timbers and see updated photos of areas in this volume.