Terraced Shade Garden Landscape Smart : Episode LDS-112 -- More Projects »
Welcome to northern California, where homeowners Meredith and Keith Standiford are contemplating a whole new look for their backyard. Right now when visitors walk out the back door, they're met by a rather small backyard with a steep, shaded hillside, which doesn't leave much room for entertaining or relaxing. "It's pretty foresty and hard to control," admits Meredith. She and her husband are anxious to create new areas of usable space.
  Homeowners Meredith and Keith Standiford discuss their problematic yard with Landscape Smart host Ken Bastida. |  Right now this difficult, weed-covered slope is little more than wasted space in the landscape. |  Landscape architect Gary Lazar reviews key design principles with show host Ken Bastida. |
Landscape architect Gary Lazar sees a way to transform the Standifords' yard with the addition of a dry-stack stone wall made of moss rock, and a stone staircase made of moss rock and slabs of bluestone that leads to an upper terrace. The idea is to make the yard feel more spacious by creating separate outdoor "rooms," and make the area feel more manageable by leading visitors to focused destinations. The new seating area will be small-scale and narrow, about eight feet wide--just cozy enough for reading or visiting.
Because of the heavy lifting and tremendous amount of digging required, Lazar considers this project a difficult one for the average homeowner. Tons of rock have to be brought up to the site and the project involves a lot of digging, grading and hauling. If that part of the project is hired out, however, the job becomes less difficult. And when homeowners install the wall and stairs themselves, the total cost of the job can be pared in half, from $7,000 for a professional to complete the job to $3,500 ($1,500 in materials, $2,000 for help from a contractor). Step One: Excavation
The first step in this landscape redo is to take out existing wooden walls and level the entire area (figure A) to make room for the new terrace. A professional crew with the proper equipment can make short work of chopping up large tree roots and loosening and removing compacted soil.
Step Two: Building the Walls
Once the area is cleared, it's time to build the stone walls that will frame the staircase and hold the hillside in place. Gary has chosen moss rock (figure B) to build the walls, which will give a natural, informal feel to the entire area, something that concrete or cut stone would not do.
The stacked-rock wall will measure a total of 100 linear feet and will rely on gravity, not mortar, to stay together. The beauty of this design is that it does not require a lot of precision to achieve the desired effect. In other words, you can make a few mistakes and no one will really notice.
Begin by placing two stakes in the ground at the beginning and end points of the wall. Tie a string line between the two stakes and build the wall up to the string line (figure C). That will ensure that the top of the wall is level.
Now dig a trench between the stakes, flush against the bottom of the compacted hill of dirt. Make the trench just deep enough and wide enough to hold the first layer of rocks in the soil (figure D)--this will keep the wall sturdy. Embedding the bottom layer of stones will provide added strength and will make the rock appear as if it's been there a long time. With each layer of stone, compact the dirt, then lean the stone back into the hillside 5 to 10 degrees so the wall doesn't fall outward over time (figure E). Also, wet the dirt to help keep stones in place (figure F). As it dries the dirt will set almost like concrete.
While most shade gardens are dominated by foliage, Gary Lazar made a point of choosing blooming shade plants for all-season color. But the placement of the plants is just as important as their color and form. Particularly in small areas, it's best to avoid symmetrical groupings. Instead bunch plants in groups of three to seven to keep the look freeform. Tip: When placing plants in the landscape, give them enough space to grow to their full size. Step Three: Building the Stairs
With the stone walls in place, it is now time to build the stairs that will lead to the terrace. The front face of the stairs will be moss rock (the same as the walls) and the stair treads will be bluestone (the same as the terrace floor.) By the way, it would cost about $100 per step for these to be installed professionally; to do it yourself, the cost will be about $30 per step.
As with the walls, the rock you use for the rise should be partially buried so that it is anchored well and looks natural. First carve out the area for the steps, digging a hole to bury the first stones. Mix mortar using six parts sand to three parts cement to one part lime, for strength. Fill the holes for the treads with mortar (figure G) and put the risers in place, making sure they're level. Finally, lay in the flagstone pieces that have been cut to fit each tread (figure H). The Finished Project
The terraced shade garden is complete, and the Standifords now have a cozy garden room in a spot that was previously overgrown and unusable.
 Cranesbill ( Geranium 'Biokovo') is a tender perennial that blooms for months and works equally well as a ground cover or as draping foliage that grows down walls or over rocks. |  A good plant for deep color in the shade garden, Tussock bellflower ( Campanula carpatica, Zones 4-7) has purple blooms that will trail over a garden wall. |  Fall-blooming Japanese windflower ( Anenome japonica, Zones 4-8) will grow to a height of three feet and, once established, will spread underground by bulbs. |
Guests Gary Lazar
Landscape Designer / Contractor, Lazar Landscape and Design
2884 Ettie St.
Oakland, CA 94608
Phone: 510-444-5195
Fax: 510-444-5198
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