Logan Mcfadden
Create a unique outdoor living space by organising and levelling that steep slope into terraces. Designing a series of interconnected, multi-level garden beds adds a lot of character to the space.
This means you can create separate zones with individual purposes, such as decks or patios, bench seating, a firepit area, ponds and pools.
So let’s jump in and look at tips for creating a gorgeous multi-level terraced garden full of visual drama. It makes sense to fill your terraced garden with plants chosen specifically for their structural strength to withstand the elements. This will keep your terraced garden looking well-defined but still appearing to sit naturally in its context.
Aim for orderly layers of solid plantings in a harmonious colour scheme so that everything looks neat. Try chalk stick succulents at the top, have a waterfall of Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’ in the middle, and a tall cardboard palm at the base for dimension. Build your terraced garden retaining walls in the same materials as your home itself keeps the indoors connected to the outdoors.
Ornamental grasses look beautiful in a terraced garden as they stir and sway in the breeze, and the more layers, the better. Overlapping terraces full of low-maintenance grasses and shrubs soften up the hard lines of structures. Authentic, formal terraced gardens traditionally include numerous sets of stairs at varying angles.
Tiers created by stone retaining walls or rows of trees and hedges in a terraced garden result in a series of horizontal parallel lines. One of the advantages of working with terraces is that you can create all those individual zones that make the space dynamic and functional.
For example, you might feature banquette seating along textured stone walls to complete a dining setting. Rather than have a steep straight up and down set of steps, ones that make the odd turn are both pleasing to the eye and safer.
Either way, adding illumination will give depth to your levels and put the focus on your feature plants. Lighting such as recessed LED strips can also help make obvious where changes in levels occur, improving the safety of steps.
Speak to an expert landscape lighting designer to work out a plan for your garden needs. Why not plant up a terraced garden veggie patch with mint, chives, chard and tomatoes?
Terraced gardens are ideal for growing herbs and veggies as they enable you to section off different kinds of plants very easily.
But the beds stay close enough so that you can take advantage of things like gravity irrigation systems or companion planting.
Plants in containers or boxes will soften up the hard lines of a structured terraced garden. If you need some help from an expert in planter boxes, you can always find a local to give you hand.
But you can also take advantage of optical illusions that make the total space appear even larger. Clever landscaping of a terraced garden means it can seem to have a lot more space and depth than it actually has.
Smaller or less steep terraces have less of a need for retaining walls and structural support. Extra-wide steps emphasise the horizontal surfaces, contributing to a luxurious sense of spaciousness.
It’s a good idea to draw attention to the edges of your steps or pathway for safety purposes. In that case, it can sometimes be tricky to reach the highest parts for hand-watering purposes and installing an irrigation system will be the go.
Luckily drip irrigation systems can be made easier in terraced gardens thanks to natural gravity. In planning a terraced garden, think about continuity so that you are keeping a similar visual style both indoors and outdoors.
They’ll trap rain preventing soil erosion, which is one of the main advantages of terracing. A simple two-layer retaining wall set up is an easy way to help stop erosion in a sloped front yard. Terracing helps turn a ramshackle hillside into a sleek contemporary design, with retaining walls providing structure and order. Natural stone retaining walls in steeply terraced gardens have the added benefit of acting as a neutral background to feature plants.
If you have a particular colour scheme in mind, why not speak with an expert in garden planting who can help you bring your vision to life. Rather than have retaining walls installed, you can create a gentle gradient by mounding soil to reshape a site’s contours.
When planning your terraced garden and assessing existing features, consider whether ripping out mature trees is a good idea.
Repetition of materials ensures all the elements and levels of a modern terraced backyard stay tied together. You won’t just be able to start slicing into the hillside or removing existing trees and shrubs with abandon. Careful planning is needed to avoid damaging the integrity and stability of the site—who wants mudslides?
You’ll need to think about the placement of retaining walls and a planting scheme that’s sympathetic to the hilly location. Towards the bottom of a slope, you’ll add plants that can tolerate damper soil where the moisture tends to pool after rain.
And planting trees that create a network of roots helps bind and strengthen the levels. Retaining walls are common for terraced gardens as they turn an incline into smaller increments with less soil pressure.
You might also wish to include an irrigation system that will help water slowly flow to the lower levels. If you plant up a slope you’ll need to be able to access all areas for maintenance or for the enjoyment of social spaces.
