The Beginning
First Step – Build Retaining Wall/Perennial Herb Bed
Our house was built on the edge of a steep ridge. The trees have been cleared from the hillside, so there is a spectacular view of the morning sun rise.
When Dave first bought the property he had dirt work done in order to create more flat space on the top of the ridge. Recently, he decided to make it even wider, big enough for a small yurt, tiny home, or shop.
Dave used the dirt to widen the space in between the house and the the hillside, and that is where he built the retaining wall.
This garden bed will be a cozy home for culinary and medicinal herbs
The last part of constructing the raised bed will be to create an inner edge using ferro-cement. This technique utilizes flexible wire mesh and a 3:1 mixture of soft sand and cement.
In the video below Dave plays with the wire mesh to get an idea of how tall the inner wall will be and where he wants to position it.
Finishing the retaining wall & perennial herb bed
In the video above Dave constructs the inner wall. The first step is getting the rebar secured together to form the frame. Then he ties the chicken wire to the rebar frame. Next he mixes and makes the farro cement to fill in between the chicken wire. The finished product looks beautiful! This process for a small wall is nice because it flows and undulates with the herbs and the curve of the retaining wall behind it.
The perennial herb bed has filled in, thick and lush.
