After the completion of the retaining wall footing, you will be anxious to start on the retaining wall construction.  Building a wall in Austin, Texas is very common as many homes in Austin, Westlake Hills, Lake Travis and West Austin are in the middle of the Texas Hill country.

However building a wall is not as easy as it looks.  It is not uncommon to see walls that fall down, due to poor planning and improper construction that is not based on the needs of the site. This is where the 20 years of landscape design experience we have in this region come in handy.

Here are three steps that should make constructing a retaining wall easier:

Step one: Lay your first course of stone.  To do this, set a bed of mortar on the footing which should be level.  This will allow you to lay your stone courses quickly.  Set your stone, and tamp it down so it makes contact with the wet mortar, and use a level to insure it is indeed level.  As you lay this course you will need to install 1 inch PVC drainpipes to allow the water to exit the wall.  Depending on your design you may need to install also a French drain to pick up ground water and carry it from behind the wall.  This alleviates any pressure that might build up from the water.

Step two: Continue setting stones until the first course is complete.  When you start on the second row, set back the second course ¾ of an inch so it is further into the hill than the first course.  This will create a stair step effect so the wall will lean in to the hillside.  This will also help keep your wall strong by making it lean in rather than outwards, thus have minimal chance to lean and collapse outwards.  Next you will need to stagger the joints of each row, so they do not line up. (If you are building the face of your wall straight up then you will need a different design than described).

Step three: After installing 3-4 courses of stone, you will want to start to back fill your wall with gravel.  This will provide good drainage, and is critical to the life of your wall.  Upon reaching your desired height of stones continue the gravel and stop so you can cover the gravel with filter fabric and then soil to reach the final height needed to install your plants and grass.

These are the basic guidelines and there are many other items to consider, based on your project.  Building a retainer wall that can stand up to the Hill Country Terrain may be best left up to the professionals.

Brent D. Wiltshire

Owner & Senior Designer

Perfect Lawns and Landworks of Austin

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We are wrapping up a large landscape construction project in Austin, between Westlake Hills and Lake Travis.  This project is complex and involves a lot of masonry construction.. We have retaining walls, patios, an outdoor kitchen, seat walls, and water feature.  To help explain how important good construction techniques are, this blog emphasizes the footing on a retaining wall.

When constructing a masonry wall in Austin Texas or anywhere for that matter, the footing is the most important step in securing the longevity of your investment.  I suggest working with a landscape architect on your landscape project to insure that your masonry is properly designed as this is a complex process in order to have a quality finished product.

Step one: Determine the location and dimensions of your footing based on the height and width of the structure that it will support.  The minimum size footing for a wall would be 12 inches by 12 inches.  A stone border can be just a concrete bed of 6 inches deep and as wide.   The wall shown in the photo is for a tall wall and the footing is much larger.

Step two: Excavate with picks, rock bars, jackhammer and pure sweat equity.

Step three: Install rebar steel.  Steel must be tied together and elevated/supported off the ground to allow the concrete to fill in under it for stability.  Set up your wooden forms if you are out of grade, this will contain the concrete and give you the shape you are wanting.  Use a stake every 2-3 feet to add rigidity to your form.  The forms must be level, as this will make setting your stones much easier.  Add sleeves (pvc pipes) through the concrete and or forms to allow irrigation, lighting and drainage.

Step four: Pour concrete and allow to dry. Afterwards you can lay your first course of stone or brick.

These are the basic steps for building a footing as shown in the photos.

Brent D. Wiltshire

Owner & Senior Designer

Perfect Lawns and Landworks of Austin

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In previous posts I’ve listed some of my favorite books for people who are interested in deepening their knowledge of gardening, permaculture, and design. Below is a list of some fantastic magazines that are on the cutting edge of these subjects. Books are fantastic for going deep into a certain subject, but the great things about magazines are the regular influx of new and exciting information, inspiring photos and stories, and the fact that most subscriptions for a year are about the same as a new book. Since everyone and their homegrown chicken has a website or blog these days, I have included the links to these magazines websites.

Organic Gardening – This magazine is a perennial favorite of almost any organic gardener. Full of new studies, projects, and trials, this magazine will keep you up to date on the oldest, truest form of gardening. http://www.organicgardening.com/

Mother Earth News – Calling all hippies! This magazine was created in the 70s and has grown into a fantastic corporation that puts out not only the magazine but also books that support a healthy and self sustaining lifestyle. Full of gardening tips, eco-friendly information, lifestyle changes, recipes and the like. http://www.motherearthnews.com/

Urban Farm Magazine – A new magazine that focuses on farming in the city! I love the stories and great layout of this magazine as much as I love the DIY info. This next year the magazine is going to switch from producing one issue per season to one every two months. I am very excited about this move! http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/

Permaculture Magazine – Permaculture? Enough said. http://www.permaculture-magazine.co.uk/

Horticulture Magazine – A good resource for plant education, but this is nation wide, so keep a look out for plants for your area within the overall recommendations. Pictures are beautiful and I frequently cut them out and post them on my mood boards above my design desk. http://www.hortmag.com/GeneralMenu/

Herb Companion – for the serious herb grower. This magazine not only talks about how to grow herbs but what to do with them. Great for learning about cooking with herbs as well as natural healing. http://www.herbcompanion.com/

Garden Design Magazine – full of drool worthy pictures and amazing gardens. A classic garden design magazine. http://www.gardendesign.com/

Gardens Illustrated – a UK magazine with amazingly beautiful gardens. This magazine makes me want to sell everything I have a by a rundown manse where I can grow bulbs and little boxwood hedges and sip tea in the fog. http://www.gardensillustrated.com/

Happy Browsing!

Kate Higdon

Perfect Lawns and Landworks

Austin, Texas

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Books are a great way to go deep into a subject that you are interested in. If you are enjoying the first of the permaculture series and want to learn more in-depth information, start an urban farm, or learn how to be a bit more self-reliant, here are some great resources.

Introduction to Permaculture and Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual both by Bill Mollison
- Mr. Mollison was the “founding father” of permaculture design. Enough said.

Gia’s Garden by Toby Hemengway
- This book is a great resource for home scale permaculture. If you are interested in permaculture but are overwhelmed by the intensity of some of the other resources this is a great place to start.

Kitchen Gardens of France by Louisa Jones
- Inspiration! This book is full of beautiful visuals of the Art of the Potager. Currently out of print, but worth the search.

All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space by Mel Bartholomew
- A great book for beginners who want to start small and get a lot of bang for their buck. See my previous post on this fantastic method!

Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening by Howard Garrett
- A great guide for organic edible gardening in Texas written by the famed “Dirt Doctor” Howard Garrett. Covers soils, homemade remedies, pest control, beneficial insects and much, much more!

Great Garden Companions: A Companion-Planting System for a Beautiful, Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden by Sally Jean Cunningham
- This starts to move into a more advanced garden system. If you are interested in which plants are “friends” and how they benefit each other, then this is the book for you!

The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch
- This book is a nice thick encyclopedia style book that covers vegetable gardening as well as ornamental gardening, along with soil, planning, trees, and many other topics. A must have for any gardener!

Designing the New Kitchen Garden: An American Potager Handbook by Jennifer Bartley
- This book has beautiful illustrations and great information about designing a traditional vegetable garden.

The Secret Life of Compost by Malcolm Beck
- A classic about the “why and how” of composting. If you a really interested in creating you own compost to build up your soil, this is a        great book.

Now, just what are you going to do with all your harvest? Cook it up and share with friends! What a beautiful event it is to have a dinner party prepared with food from your own garden. So as a bonus I’m including my favorite cookbook.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
- A throw back to the traditional way of preparing and eating healthy, life sustaining foods.

And if you have any left over vegetables, look into traditional ways of preservation such as canning, preserves, and the like.

The Backyard Homestead: Produce All the Food You Need on Just a Quarter of an Acre edited by Carleen Madigan
- This book has information on canning, preserving and many other traditional homesteading methods. Also includes more information
about gardening and growing livestock in a small space. Pretty amazing book.

Homesteading: A Back to Basics Guide to Growing Your Own Food, Canning, Keeping Chickens, Generating Your Own Energy, Crafting, Herbal
Medicine, and More (Back to Basics Guides) by Abigail R. Gehring
- fantastic resource with beautiful full color photos and guides.

Bon Reading!!

Kate Higdon

Perfect Lawns & Landworks

Austin, Texas

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If you really want to add a burst of “flower power color” to your landscape beds in Austin, Texas and the surrounding Hill Country, I have the solution for you. There are really 2 seasons in our central Texas area for planting flowers. The seasons flow together so spring and summer are as one for planting purposes, due to the fact spring is short. Fall and winter are the similar because fall is short.

My 20 years of experience shows that the following are some of the best choices to have two big blooming seasons. Two color change outs should be adequate and this plan will keep your landscape budget in good shape.

I have noted (*) the plants that the deer will most likely not eat. Remember that all plants are food to an animal, so when they are hungry they will eat anything.

Fall/Winter – *snapdragons, pansies, cyclamen, dianthus, Stock, Calendula, alyssum, *Mums (fall only), also bulbs including paper whites, and *Daffodils. These can be planted in early October when cool temperatures arrive and live until the heat returns in April.

Spring/Summer – petunias, geraniums, verbena, *lantana, *periwinkles (plant after the rainy season ends as they must be dry or they will get a fungus and die), ice plant, portulaca, moss rose, Impatiens and caladiums (shade only) These can be planted in early April when warm temperatures arrive and flourish until the cool weather returns in October.

Good luck and remember to plant early when these are first available at your nursery so you will have maximum blooming time!!

Brent D. Wiltshire

Owner & Senior Designer

Perfect Lawns and Landworks of Austin

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Austinites are blessed to have access to a fantastic trail that is unlike any other. Wrapping around the newly named Lady Bird Lake, the hike and bike trail provides ample space to run in nature. Most of the trail is well shaded and bordered by wild and natural edgings along the lake. Strategically placed along the path are garden spaces where community oriented individuals and businesses can care for the trail. This summer we decided to get involved in keeping Austin not only weird, but also beautiful, by adopting the three gardens along the trail around South Lamar and the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge.

After gaining approval from the city to maintain the gardens, I went out to survey the space. It was predominantly shady which provided some great challenges – for instance, the flowering plant pallet is limited when it comes to what will bloom in shade. Also, the area was mostly sloped so certain types of gravel – such as decomposed granite – could not be used over much of the area as mulch because it would easily wash away.

The garden layout was already set and much to our delight already sported many great plants such as fully matured Red Yucca, great trees, and large rosemary shrubs. To keep the garden in line with the “eco-friendly” theme we all love so well, I picked a lot of Columbine, Texas Sedge, Coreopsis, and other native and well adapted plants. Up in the areas under the bridge that got no sun at all, I used Cast Iron Plant to provide evergreen foliage.

As usual, the actual installation varied a bit from the design. This is very normal for garden design. Once you get on site and start laying out plants the eye catches new texture combinations to highlight or notices that the lighting is a bit different than originally thought and the plants are adjusted accordingly.

At the Pfluger Garden the plant locations remained mostly the same in the translation from paper to real life, but more gravel was added to spruce up the edges and highlight certain plants. The arroyos were extended to help with water and add more aesthetic interest. Arroyos (dry creek beds, or the simulation of them) are wonderful additions to any garden; they can help collect and direct water in low spots, or break up areas where large amounts of water land (such as at the end of a gutter or under an eve) and help diminish the wash out.

I hope you get a chance to go see the gardens and let us know what you think! For now, please enjoy the before and after shots below.
Lady Bird Lake Design 1- Before and After

Lady Bird Lake Design 2- Before and After

Lady Bird Lake Design 3- Before and After

Happy hiking and biking,

Kate Higdon

Perfect Lawns and Landworks

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The aims of permaculture include restoring the soil, long term sustainability, and ethical use of resources. The earth runs a certain cycle in order to restore the ecosystems naturally. Permaculture studies the cycles of nature in order to speed up the process in a natural way.

When soil is exposed or depleted of nutrients, weeds sprout up (much to the annoyance of anyone with a lawn or garden). These weeds, while hated by most, are incredibly important. They are first succession plants that are replenishing the soil and stabilizing it. Many weeds are nitrogen fixers and naturally convert the nutrient from the air into the soil. Many wildflowers are included in this process. Experts are able to look at what weeds and flowers are naturally sprouting up in the area and pin point what nutrients are missing from the soil.

Next up are the grasses, as the weeds start to fade out the grasses come in and prepare the soil for the shrubs. From shrubs the natural procession is small trees, then big trees, and finally a climax forest or prairie. This process uses the efforts and energies of the previous plants to push forward to a more mature ecosystem. It is “recycling” the energy.

Cycles are important. If we do not study the cycles then we cannot effectively promote the aims of permaculture. Notice cycles and think about them as you hike through a native area or forest. If you frequently pass an empty lot, watch how it evolves over time. Reconnect to the cycles by spending time outside (and getting that much needed fresh air and Vitamin D). Once you have a better idea of the natural cycles, then you can design and plan for them, thus promoting a healthy design.

Kate Higdon
Certified Permaculture Designer
Perfect Lawns and Landworks
Austin, Texas

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Some of the boldest and most interesting plants forms that are becoming popular in Austin, Texas area landscapes are Cactus, Yuccas and Agaves. These plants are often referred to generally by the public as ‘cactus’.  The Austin Cactus and Succulent Society has information about how to care for these plants in our area.

Attributes of this plant type include: a bold striking shape/form, subtle color of the leaves, drought tolerance, interesting flowers and minimum maintenance.  Undesirable characteristics may include thorny leaf margins and intimidating spikes (should not be used in yards where small children and pets romp around), and depending on the species, low tolerance to shady areas and low winter temperatures.

Here at Perfect Lawns and Landworks of Austin our Landscape Architects and Landscape Designers love to employ these plants in xeriscape and sustainable gardens. They are used as focal points in the landscape; as a contrast to the more conventional rounded shrubs and groundcovers; as a potted specimen; as a complement to the Southwestern/Mexican style homes and gardens; and even as an ornamental in the landscapes of our ‘Tuscan ‘ style residences (Agaves and Yuccas have been popular in Italy and Spain for hundreds of years).

Typically these plants require lots of sun, a well-drained bed, lots of room to grow and no over-watering. Deer usually avoid these plants, the exception being the browsing sometimes of the fresh leaves and flower stalks of some yuccas.

Favorite Perfect Lawns and Landworks of Austin agaves include: Century Plant, Blue Agave, Parry’s  Agave , Squid Agave and Queen Victoria Agave.

Yuccas to consider in Central Texas and Austin include: Red Yucca, Twistleaf yucca, Paleleaf Yucca, Softleaf Yucca, Thompson’s Yucca and Spanish Dagger Yucca.

Cactus (prickly pear) to use: Old Mexico Prickly Pear and Purple Prickly Pear. Visit your local nursery to discover other possible choices of this plant. Be sure to inquire about eventual mature size and cold tolerance. Also, ask nursery staff if the stock is nursery grown and not pilfered from the wild, for example National Parks!

Other plants that have an affinity with the ones mentioned above that we use in the Central Texas residential landscape are Sotols and Nolinas and Aloes.

The water-wise gardener will find agaves, yuccas and cactus a fascinating and low maintenance inclusion in the residential landscape.

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Problems are just opportunities waiting to be discovered

Permaculture is not about problems. Permaculture is about joy and abundance. Instead of focusing on what one needs to remove in order to feel “green”, one looks at what one can do to make their life more rich and effective while being local and sustainable (remember sustainable is not just about the environment…. what is sustainable for you means what you can afford money and time wise as well as what is good for the environment).

When approaching the world through the lens of permaculture you must be positive and proactive. Adjusting your thinking is the first step so that you can react to issues differently.

Normal Reactions to today’s challenges:

-      Denial “what problems?”

-      Defer “future technology will fix it.”

-      Instant gratification “quick fix without permanent change”

-       Global “this problem is larger than me, I can’t do anything about it”

Permaculture Focused Reactions:

-       Redesign “how can we correct the system?”

-       Substitute “what can we do instead?”

-       Lifestyle “how can I change myself, my place to make an impact?”

-       Grassroots “what can I do where I am?”

This thinking is born out of the Ethics of Permaculture:

-       Care for people

-       Care for earth

-       Create/share/sell surplus

-       Intrinsic value of all living things

-       Reduce consumption

As always, remember that permaculture is not an all or nothing approach…educated yourself, then take what you want and apply it.

Happy Thinking,

Kate Higdon
Landscape Designer and Certified Permaculture Designer
Perfect Lawns and Landworks

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Don't forget to follow the watering schedule mandated by the City of Austin.  No watering between 10am and 7pm for irrigation systems or sprinklers but hand watering is allowed anytime.

City of Austin Summer Watering Schedule

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