Backyard Berm, a Big Update!

We worked very hard in early spring on the back berm.  I posted a couple of years ago about how I had built it back up and added mulch.  Well, then I never did anything else.

This year we built a stacked brick wall.  It looks so much nicer, and really creates a division between the overgrown wetlands and us.  My husband cleaned up a lot of bamboo, vines, and other overgrowth as we went.

We did the following steps to ensure a lasting wall:

• We made sure that the ground was level with every brick laid
• We used small metal rods to add stability, by driving them down the holes every so many feet.
• We used dirt and mulch to stabilize some more, behind the wall.
• We put landscape fabric down, below the mulch.

 We did have to do something special around the drain pipe.  This is where rain water goes out to the wetland behind us.  We used a steel bar to hold the bricks straight across.  By the way, all the wild birds here are 'wild' about the brick wall!

It's definitely added some curb appeal to the back yard, and I love it!  Peter Cottontail also loves it!  He comes out every day to enjoy the view (and he likes to eat the weeds in our yard, too).

 

The wall was a lot of work, but a labor of love.  I love working in the yard, so this was a great project, and will be rewarding for a very long time.  I'll have to share what plants are currently on the berm in a future post, as well as some thoughts for what I'd like to add.  Any suggestions?