Can Retaining Walls Help Keep Your Garden Safe This Winter?

Winters in Ann Arbor MI can be brutal, and everything from frigid temperatures to several feet or more of snow or ice are common. These weather conditions can wreak havoc on your garden areas. Whether you have a vegetable garden, a flower garden or another type of garden, you may be wondering what steps you can take to keep it safe from harm. One of the beneficial features that you may incorporate into your space is a retaining walls. While these can be used to create aesthetic appeal in your yard by giving you a terracing look or by incorporating taller borders into your space, they also have functional benefits that can be put to use soon.

The Ability to Control Runoff
You can use retaining walls in a number of ways, and the walls can range from several inches to more than several feet in height. When you have a steeply graded yard, the runoff from snow and ice melt can be significant, and this can damage your gardens. Walls can be incorporate to terrace the area and to make the ground more even. By doing so, the runoff from snow and ice can be controlled more easily. You can even use these features with others, such as drainage features, to further control snow and ice melt or even heavy rains that are common at the beginning and end of the winter months in Ann Arbor MI.

Creating a Level Yard for Temperature Control
Another benefit associated with the use of walls is the ability to better control temperatures in your yard. When you have areas that are deeply inclined, the temperature at the top of a hill in the sunlight may be several degrees warmer than a shaded area at the bottom of the hill. When you level out the space using walls, you can ensure that areas of your yard receive more even amounts of sunlight. This can help you to better control temperature. Ultimately, this can ensure that gardens stay warmer, get adequate sunlight and dry out more quickly as desired.

Increased Ability to Cover Your Plants

While some walls will be used to level or terrace a yard, others can be used to create tall borders or planter boxes for your gardens. While the elevated area may seem to expose roots in these boxes to cooler weather conditions, they also can make it easier for you to cover your plants throughout the winter. You can secure the cover inside the crevices of your planters and can wrap the entire boxed planter area.

As you can see, retaining walls in Ann Arbor MI offer true benefits to you. If you have an herb garden, a flower garden or another type of garden, a smart idea is to speak with a landscaping professional about the possibilities for using walls effectively in your space. A beautiful and functional design can be incorporated to provide you and your many garden areas with several benefits throughout the winter and beyond.