How To Plan A Plot On A Slope: Terraces

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Slope terraces

According to garden designers, if the slopes of the slope have a slope of less than 30 cm per 1 m, then they do not need special reinforcements, and for their stability, the strength of the lawn sod and the root system of shrubs is sufficient. Obviously, all this is true, provided that the vegetable beds do not interest you. At the same time, special measures have to be taken to fix steeper slopes.

Probably the only correct solution in this case is to organize a series of terraces on the plot with an elephant, because modern landscape architecture has not yet come up with a more practical and reliable way for such conditions.

When constructing terraces, it is better to start from the most even area. It is desirable, of course, on it and to arrange the house as the most significant structure. The house should be located precisely on a natural solid site so that no movement subsequently occurs, and it really could stand for many decades. Therefore, the place for the house is determined during the initial inspection of the site and it is from it that the terraces that are located one after another begin to form.

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All subsequent terraces (and there may be 3-4-5 or more) will be fenced off from the first and from each other by specially created retaining walls, the height and shape of which will depend on specific conditions and personal preferences. A classic option is considered when the height of the retaining walls does not exceed half a meter, but in my garden the height of individual walls reaches a meter or more (otherwise it would not be possible to place tall apple trees on the site).

In principle, the choice of the number of terraces and the difference in height between them depends, of course, on personal desire. The only thing to remember: a very small number of terraces and a large difference in heights between them make your site less interesting from an aesthetic point of view, moreover, it is difficult to implement in practice. On the contrary, too many terraces will no longer diversify the space of your garden, but only grind it. So here, as elsewhere, it is better to choose the "golden mean".

Terrace borders

Terraces can be limited in a variety of ways: with the help of fences (as a rule, very low walls can be decorated in this way - no higher than 30-40 cm; more often they are lower), capital walls (for example, artificial concrete or brick - their height can even reach 1 meter or more) or decorative walls made of natural stone using dry masonry (usually their height does not exceed 60-80 cm).

The retaining walls themselves can be made of a variety of materials: wood, concrete, brick, boulders, crushed stone.

Wicker terraces

To create wattle fences, you will need to drive the stakes 60 cm long into the ground by half, leaving the same distance between them, and then weave them with long willow twigs. The steeper the slope, the closer to each other you need to put fences (1-3 m). If you also plant dwarf shrubs or ground cover grasses between them, then the soil can be considered securely fixed. Round decorative wicker walls look more impressive.

Capital walls

Strong concrete retaining walls or brick walls are common. To give decorative effect, the front surface of the first is decorated with a stone or other improvised materials (of course, if you have the strength and time), brick looks good without decoration. Subject to all design requirements, concrete retaining walls are capable of withstanding very heavy loads and can be up to 1 m high, and in some cases even higher. Brick walls are not as reliable, and usually their height does not exceed 50-60 cm.

Walls made of natural stones or "dry walls"

Walls made of natural stones, stacked on top of each other without a binder mortar, have been used for thousands of years in various parts of our land in the development of hilly areas. The strength of this type of wall, called a dry wall, depends on how neatly the masonry is made, as well as on the weight of the stones themselves. With a dry wall with perfect laying, you can support a slope ledge up to one meter high!

The material for the construction of dry walls is as diverse as nature itself. A layered stone such as shale, sandstone or slab limestone, which is easy to work but also wears out faster than granite, gneiss or porphyry and is therefore only suitable for low terraces. It is better to build high walls from the strongest granite.

If the masonry is loose (it is clear that this is not suitable everywhere), then you can leave small niches in it and plant them with ground cover plants. If you are lucky, and the wall is strong enough, and the plants take root, you can get a very spectacular structure in a dress of many alpine plants. True, for the plants to feel good, you need to orient the retaining wall to the south. Placed on sun-drenched stones, or rather, planted in the "pockets" between them, the "Alpines" will quickly "creep away", forming multi-colored pillows on the wall.

It is necessary to think about future plantings even during the construction of the support wall itself. Large gaps between the stones are immediately filled with sandy-clay soil and plants are planted in it that are capable of surviving in such conditions.

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How to link terraces together

Naturally, all the terraces will have to be connected by paths with steps or even real staircases, the main task of which will be to provide a transition from one terrace to another. In this case, it is desirable that the appearance of the stairs (steps) corresponds to the style of the retaining walls. That is, if your retaining walls are made using the dry masonry method, then the steps should also be made of masonry. Strict brick ladders, etc. are suitable for the retaining walls made of brick.

As for the steps, an odd number of steps is considered optimal - one, three, in extreme cases, five. At the same time, if possible, it is better not to overload the territory with steps, but to limit ourselves to their minimum (that is, really necessary) number. The steps should be sized to be comfortable and safe to step on.

Of course, it is not bad when the stairs (or steps) are supplemented in suitable places with plantings of various plants, possibly containers with flowers. Then it will become a real decoration of the garden area.

But still, the most important thing is that in whatever version the ladder is made, it must be safe (in particular, non-slip) and accessible at any time of the year. Therefore, in our Ural conditions, finishing steps with polished marble or granite tiles, as it is sometimes shown on television or in spectacular landscape design magazines, is hardly reasonable. And it's not so much about the price, but the fact that such feet are unsafe in the autumn-winter-spring time.

It is necessary to correctly determine the dimensions and proportions of both individual steps and the entire staircase. One basic rule applies here: the double step height plus its width should be equal to the length of a human step, which is approximately 64 cm. It should not be forgotten that when lifting, the normal step length is shortened. The steps corresponding to this calculation are the most convenient.

The optimal height of individual steps is considered to be within 12-15 cm (of course, all steps of the stairs must have the same height). Then, for example, this option is possible: (2 x 12) +40 = 64 cm, or (2 x 15) + 34 = 64 cm. If there is not enough space, then you have to make the steps steeper, for example, (2 x 17) +30 = 64 cm. It turns out that the rule is: the steeper the rise, the narrower the steps, and vice versa.

What about the fence?

Frankly, this is a moot point. It is clear that it is more pleasant to tightly enclose your possessions with a fence, creating your own personal mini-kingdom, inaccessible to prying eyes. But if the site is located on a slope, then there is one "but". As you know, cold air, like water, tends to the lowland. If you put a solid fence there, then the cold air will stagnate, and the soil and plants in the lower part of the slope will be more exposed to frost. Therefore, you need to either install a permeable fence that does not interfere with the movement of cold air, or, if the fence is solid, you will not have to plant plants in the low part of the slope near such a fence, which are especially sensitive to frost.

There is one more nuance. The wind on the slopes is always felt stronger, and the damage from it is always more significant. If a solid fence is encountered in the path of the wind, then it causes a sharp rise in the air flow and its decrease almost immediately behind the fence. The result is falling downward bursts of destructive force. It is impossible to stop such a wind, but its energy can be dissipated, in particular, a permeable fence can extinguish the wind speed. Therefore, solid fences should not be made in areas with a slope.

Formation of a fertile layer on terraces

It is obvious that the formation of a series of terraces on the slope will require a considerable amount of bulk soil, which is in short supply on our Ural slopes. It is possible, of course, to bring the land necessary for this, simply. But, on the one hand, will you bring a lot, and how much will it result in? On the other hand, everyone knows that whole hordes of pests and pathogens usually arrive with the land.

Therefore, in fact, there is only one way out - to get a humus layer due to a huge mass of plant residues mixed with a limited amount of manure and lime. Absolutely everything can be used as plant residues - crushed bark, sawdust, thin branches of shrubs, used brooms, straw, grass cuttings, leaf litter and kitchen waste.

Of course, if you recall the classic treatises, for example, on vegetable growing, then all such waste is recommended to be composted first. True, this process is not entirely fast, even taking into account the use of composting accelerators. And it is difficult to organize all this at once and quickly, when you want to plant something, even in the first year. Harvest, because, for some reason, you always want to have it right away. Therefore, the option of composting at the beginning of the development of the site is completely unacceptable.

It is better, after breaking down into terraces, right on the rocky ground or sod (where will it be!) To outline and somehow enclose the future ridges, cover them with a layer of branches and brooms. Then place straw and grass there, then a layer of manure and sawdust, cover everything with a solid layer of lime and leaves, if possible, spill it with a composting accelerator (for example, "Shining-3"), and then pour that small, literally two-centimeter layer of sand that we have in such areas is called soil. It is convenient to mulch the ridges with crushed bark or sawdust immediately after planting.

Naturally, such ridges, while the real retaining walls have not yet been made, will have to be fenced, otherwise they will dry out quickly. For this, a variety of materials at hand can be used, first of all, film and stones, which may be found on a rocky slope. Due to the constant humidity inside these makeshift ridges, as well as the processes of decay inside them, from the very beginning, quite good conditions for plant growth will form.

As a result, in the first two years you will not be left without a crop. In parallel with this, it will be necessary to carry out systematic work on the construction of retaining walls and ladders connecting them with steps in accordance with the conceived plan. And after a few years, luck will finally turn its face to you, and you can proudly admire the previously completely inaccessible slope covered with impressive terraces and planted with various cultures.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Slope Plots