How to Utilize Plantings to Soften a Retaining Wall in the Saddle River, NJ, Area

A retaining wall is often a necessary addition to landscapes in the Saddle River, NJ area, but can appear as a mostly rigid feature if it does not have plantings to soften the square blocks or look of stone. With a combination of flowers and shrubs, your retaining wall can become a beautiful display for the landscape instead of a stark contrast to the surrounding nature.

Related: GET MORE USE OF YOUR OUTDOOR KITCHEN WITH AN OUTDOOR LIGHTING PLAN IN THE MILLBURN, NJ, AREA

Combine Types of Plants

By combining different types of greenery and plants, you can create a dynamic landscape that brings life to a retaining wall. Flowers provide pops of color that contrast beautifully against the neutral colors of a retaining wall. Shrubs and other greenery provide a foundation to build a visually dynamic display around. Native grasses add texture and provide some movement around the hard angles of a retaining wall.

Use Native Plants

Native plants could not only soften the look of your retaining wall but also provide many benefits to your landscape. Local birds, bees, butterflies, and other helpful insects tend to love native plants: These native plant-loving visitors will help pollinate the plants in your yard to create beautiful blooms year after year. Because native plants have evolved to perfectly suit the local area, they also tend to need less watering, fertilizer, and pesticides. There are often a variety of native plants that are flowering, grasses, or other types of greenery, allowing for the creation of a beautiful, diverse landscape that could be great for the environment.

Use Cascading Plants

While a retaining wall can be an attractive addition to your landscape, you can dress it up even more with the addition of cascading plants. A retaining wall provides a great base for cascading plants to grow around, giving structure to the creeping plants.

Aromatic plants that enjoy well-drained soil could be the right fit for the top area of a retaining wall. Consider low-maintenance plants that don't need regular pruning yet offer beautiful blue buds that will keep local pollinators happy. One cascading plant option is the New Jersey native trumpet creeper. This flowering vine is more of a runner than a climber, spreading from 5 to 10 feet long. Because it doesn’t grow very tall, a trumpet creeper is great to train along the edges of your retaining wall to add an extra pop of color against leafy greens and the natural colors of your retaining wall.

Choose Flowers for Color

There are a number of beautiful flowering plants that can establish pops of color that will brighten a retaining wall while simultaneously giving a softness. With so many flowering options, you can include soft pastels or bold colors to create a dynamic landscape that your retaining wall is the stage for. By picking combinations of flowers that bloom in different seasons, you can ensure there is a flowering bud around every season.

Butterfly weed is a popular choice in New Jersey for the reason it gets its common name—it attracts butterflies! These blooms arrive in bright orange and yellow, peak in summer, and require little maintenance. With a height of 1 to 2 feet, butterfly weed could be a great statement flower that will draw the eye.

New Jersey tea is a flowering shrub that grows beautiful white blooms that can provide the desired softness around a retaining wall. The white blooms arrive in the spring and the shrub grows up to 3 feet tall. These native flowers can attract butterflies and other pollinators that keep your yard at one with nature.

About the Author

GreenNature Landscape Design offers viable solutions to our clients. We provide residential landscaping services that are innovative yet competitively priced. Why choose us? We treat each client like our only client. We have the experience and knowledge to turn your most ambitious ideas into reality. You are the driving factor in our designs. Our designs are focused on meeting your unique preferences. Let us create beautiful landscapes you can be proud of, and outdoor living spaces you can’t wait to spend time in.