HOME &

GARDEN

Steep garden slopes

can create

NOW IS the time to be planning
your landscape: whether you have
an older home where the planting
just needs some rejuvenation or a
new -home where you must start
from scratch.

One of the difficuities faced by
many homeowners — whether it
be in an older or brand new home
— is that of a steep slope in the
back garden area. Often there is a
slope at the end of the property
sloping up or down to a road or
emergency waterway; or the slope
may be along one side of the
property. On older homes such
slopes have often been terraced
with timbers — either old railway
ties, or pressure-treated lumber —
and after a decade of more, the
timbers begin to rot and/or move.

On new home sites, generally,
such slopes are just graded and
sodded by the developer. The
resulting slope is often too steep
to be cut properly with a rotary
fawn mower, or when it is, the
grass is too easily scalped and thus
weed growth tends to take over,
and the area has an unkempt look
to it all growing season.

The answer to this problem,
both on older homes where the
original timbers need replacing, or
on the slopes on the lots of new
homes, is to use precast interlock-
ing retaining wall systems. These
were first introduced about a de-
cade ago, and ailow a natura}
stone look (in several color tones),
with the convenience of standard
concrete units which lock together
in several patterns to form a
strong wall that will last for de-
cades without deterioration or
shifting.

In addition to prefab blocks
which provide straight walls of 60
cm (2°) to 7.5 metres (25') in
height, these systems are now

problems

available for curved walls, and
with special planting boxes that
allow clusters of plants of various
types — even evergreens — on
terraced slopes. Most of the
prefab stones come as two pre-
cast stones in one unit which is
then easily split apart on site by
one hit with a heavy hammer and
chisel. The resulting break gives a
natural-stone-outcropping look to
the easily-handled precast concrete
unit.

Perhaps the greatest advantage
of these precast stones and their
use in retaining walls is that they
require no poured concrete foun-
dations. All that is needed is a
level 8 cm (3°') pad of compacted
gravel in a shaHow trench for
walls up to J.5 metres (5"') high.
No other foundation is needed.

The freshly cut blocks are laid
dry, without mortar, one on the
other. Depending on the height of
the wall, blocks of a greater depth
are used at the base. In order to
finish off the wall, a coping stone
that interlocks with the stones
below, runs along the top of ei-
ther straight or curved walls.

These new interlocking precast
wall sysiems are not only well-

suited to back gardens with
awkward slopes, but also for
creating planting beds at the front
of the home, or around swimming
pools being added in back
gardens.

While the interlocking wall

systems are idcally suited to do-
it-yourself homeowners, most
landscape contractors will contract
to build what is needed, and
because of the simplicity of the
sysiem, the labor is not too
substantial so the added cost is
Not too great.

Be sure to investigate all of the
various systems available.

With over 10 years in the business, we offer
interlocking paving stones and patio slabs
of all different sizes and shapes, pots,
planters, seed, fertilizers, lawn care
products, garden tools and many
more of your garden needs.

BEST PRICES IN TOWN.

Do-it-yourself or have it installed by us.

DEERWOOD GARDEN & LANDSCAPE SUPPLIES
825 W. 1st Street, N. Vancouver

987-1221
Cali us and Compare!

IT’S ONLY
NATURAL

For your home and garden
you want the best.
We can create a unique
outdoor environment for you.

Beautifully — Naturally

Professional Landscape Services
Registered Arborist on staff.

TERRA
ENVIRONMENTAL

Congratulations
to AERO-Gas Appliances

on the opening of their new store.

Soe Westburne
ae ENGINEERING & PLUMBING

A LOT OF OTHER STORES
SELL GREAT FURNITURE

——
SOFABEDS §

FROM

ENTERTAINMENT

CENTRES atl my

_FROM

During Better
Sleep Month

Sale Ends this Weekend

399 $409

PRESTIGE

QUEEN
2 PIECE

| MEMORIES

DOUBLE
2 PIECE

SUPRA

TWIN
2 PIECE

°799

| aubreySchneider f UR n E T U R E iA n D =I
see EeRT 111 E.SRD ST., NORTH VANCOUVER 986-1361, (= =

Friday, May 31, 1991 - North Shore News - 17