Landscaping with rocks....

Our backyard has a bit of a slope to it. Thankfully it is not as bad as the houses up the hill but it still meant building some sort of retaining wall to get our somewhat flat yard- a must with our trampoline. We were going to put in a castle rock wall like this....

The cost was going to be quite a bit less than rock but T.I.M.E. is a 4-letter word. We soon realized we just didn't have the time or resources to get all the supplies and build a 3 foot wall properly. Also, I fell in love with the rock wall being put in next door. All things considered we opted to go for the rock wall. It meant giving up our fence for this year but with finishing Josh's room, work, school, and other projects of daily living we just didn't know how we could accomplish everything. I told the landscapers to go ahead with the rock then talked to Robin. Thankfully he agreed (otherwise I would have called the guys).
We were originally planning to just do a straight line.....
Oh, how glad I am we changed our minds! The rock wall looks incredible! It has texture, curves and adds character to our backyard. Frank Powell is the guy who did it for us. He finished the retaining wall but then used his skill and creativity to start our backyard retreat. I was so excited I had to share photos tonight. The rest of the landscaping will go in over the next week or so.....
here is the semi-before. Frank was working on the house next to use. Once we get our landscaping in they won't be able to get tractors back there to work. So even though it hasn't sold yet they opted to do some of the yard work. 

Getting closer to use. They excavated out for us to lay the castle rock but....

I had to change my mind.....

There would have been ALOT of castle rocks to lay. I'm tough but not that tough......
And now the after....

Here is Frank, working hard to create a enjoyable backyard.....

He asked if I trusted him enough to just let him go at it. After seeing his work I didn't have any trouble letting him do what he pictured. I liked his ideas and he seemed to enjoy doing more than just a straight wall. Start with a nice wall and build your landscaping around that- he said. So we did....

He built in stars at the end by the garden.... LOVE IT!

And added a couple of curves for flower beds or even a fire pit- Dutch oven anyone?

At the other end is a gentle slope so that we can get lawnmowers or whatever down to the bottom. We plan to have fruit trees down there.....

Our fence will sit on the rocks at the far end.....

Sometimes paying a bit more at first reaps great rewards in future enjoyment. I am ever so glad we went this route! Picture trees, grass and flowers built around this wall! Beautiful!