Minkle Manor

Minkle Manor in Fort Smith, AR

I have lived here for almost 20 years. When I bought the home the back yard was just dirt and trees. Every year I work on special projects to landscape and stabilize the yard. I live on a hill side so directing water flow is always a challenge.

Back Yard Deck Front Yard Lawn Patio Pool Side Yard

1 of 12: The grass on this slope was slowly washing away and it was difficult to get a mower to this area too so it was time to make a change.

2 of 12: I actually was just going to build a short retainer wall but as I got going I realized it needed to be much higher.

3 of 12: I did this all by myself and it was my first project of this type. I had helped with some other similar projects and just carefully watched how it was done and so I decided it was time for me to 'do it myself'.

4 of 12: Here is the retainer wall planted and a beautiful fountain in the center.....

5 of 12: Here is you can see the fountain. I have had this fountain for years. It has been in the front yard, back yard, side yard and now I think it has finally found a perfect home. I painted it and gave it a nice 'new look'.

6 of 12: This is the corner of my lot looking across the yard so you can get a perspective of just where this new garden area is located.

7 of 12: The goal was to create stable gardens that would control water during heavy rains. This corner is where it all heads for when coming down the hill.

8 of 12: I decided to create a dry bed area where the majority of the water ends up and bordered the front of the rocks with Mondo grass which will help hold back the dirt and also help filter and slow water and it comes down the hill.

9 of 12: Here is a view from the bottom of the hill and you can see I added Lirope to the side of this rock bed to again hold the dirt and manage water flow.

10 of 12: This is the new garden that was created along the fence line that has lots of rocks placed across the garden to slow water and hold back the soil. It is filled with Hostas and hardy ferns and some nice grasses.

11 of 12: This picture shows the relationship of the new elevated garden to the pool. This new garden provided a wonderful expansion to the surface of the pool decking and gardens.

12 of 12: This is the view of the pool with the new garden on the left as viewed from the path going down the hillside.

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