Rock Walls, Steps and Paths

We had been having problems with soil on the south side of our house eroding into the neighbor's 

beautiful lawn, so it was time to build a retaining wall.  I wanted to do a dry stack wall because I like the style and did not feel like playing with cement.  Once I started hauling rocks and stacking them, it became a fun, creative project; kind of like playing Tetris. 

We also needed to landscape the south side of the house, so as I was hauling rocks anyway, I decided to do some terracing and make some stone steps from large pavers.

These are a couple of the wooden frames I built to set into the ground to support the large pavers.

I planted a small patch of wildflower seed to see how it would look.

After looking at both, I opted for the rock border rather than the green edging.

A new skill I learned was how to cut stone with a power saw.  Here you can see the end result of numerous passes with the saw, increasing 1/4 in. every pass. The cut ended up being about 4 inches deep.

Actually, once the cut was made, we flipped the rock and Jack jumped on it...though I don't doubt his superhuman abilities.......

Steps leading into the garden from the sidewalk:

View from the front sidewalk looking at the beginnings of our paver pathway.

The south side as far as it was finished before I needed to head out to N.H.

I also began an intensive weeding/pruning/mulching of the front garden:

I began working on it in late April and it has taken time, but it is time I have loved spending creating something functional and (I think) aesthetically pleasing.