A Retaining Wall Can Be Much More Than a Purely Functional Addition in Leawood and Olathe, KS

While a retaining wall with built-in steps would help make your hilly or sloped landscape more functional and easier to navigate, it has additional benefits. Here are some of the other ways that a retaining wall can improve your landscape in the Leawood or Olathe, KS area.

Improved Aesthetics

A retaining wall can improve the overall appearance of your outdoor living spaces and overall property. These features can be built in a variety of colors with numerous materials. You could choose to have a retaining wall built out of one color or choose to have a multi-tone look to add character. A professional landscape contractor can build a retaining wall that will suit your preferred design and style, whether that be an old-world look or a sleek and modern appearance.

If you have a sloped area of land near your paver driveway, for example, these areas can be challenging to maintain while a retaining wall would make this responsibility easier and also improve the overall appearance. The retaining wall may even be able to be constructed with materials that will closely match your paver driveway and paver walkways, creating continuity throughout your landscape features.

Defining Spaces

Retaining walls in your backyard can help define the different living areas in your outdoor space. For example, you may have an outdoor kitchen that is separated from your outdoor fire pit area by a retaining wall that doubles as a seating wall. With a seating wall, you won’t have to lug awkward and bulky patio furniture out of storage when you’re hosting an outdoor event with a large crowd. Instead, the seating will already be built-in and ready to go.

Defining the different areas of your landscape can make even smaller spaces feel larger than they are. The strategic use of retaining walls can help direct the eye and make your outdoor living space feel more organized.

Proper Water Drainage

If you live on a steep slope or a hilly area, you may experience water pooling up at the base of the hill. Since water naturally flows the path of least resistance, it will likely take the same path down your hill and pool in the same place after each rainstorm, which can cause significant damage to your landscape.

A retaining wall can help direct the rainwater into a more appropriate location, whether in the sewer system or a rain garden. This will help prevent a soggy lawn, mud puddles, and the unsightly appearance that improper waiting drainage throughout your landscape can cause.

Preventing Soil Erosion

With water flowing quickly down a steep slope or hilly area over time, it can lead to soil erosion. Soil erosion occurs when the topsoil is washed away. This strips the soil of the essential nutrients that are needed for plants, such as grass, to survive. And it can leave your landscape looking dead and, in severe cases, can even cause gullies to form over time—altering your landscape forever and harming the environment.

Retaining walls can help slow down the flow of water so that it does not wash away the soil and lead to soil erosion. With a built-in drainage system, it will collect and reroute the water to where it belongs.