Building a low retaining wall to unbeach the Whale

November 01, 2008


If you’ve been following the saga of my ‘Whale’s Tongue’ agave (Agave ovatifolia ), you’ll know how I wrestled it out of the dirt in my old garden in order to bring it to my new house. This agave is just too hard to find and too slow-growing for me to consider leaving it behind for a new owner to toss at the curb. For a month it has been beached on the upper patio in our new back yard, waiting to be replanted.

The sloping raised bed just below the patio, overlooked by both the living room and the bedroom, seemed a likely spot to set it free again. But it was not move-in ready. Here is how it looked when we moved in—a spotty, weedy mish-mash.

A couple of weeks after our move, the gardening bug bit again, and I began clearing out the bed, digging up every plant and weed, careful not to hit the drip-irrigation tubing.

The next step was to terrace the bed to tame the slope. I bought two trunkfuls of limestone flags and hauled them to the back yard in a wheelbarrow. Luckily, there’s a gentle slope from the driveway to the back patio, so gravity was my friend.

Remembering Christopher’s wall prep (aren’t garden blogs handy?), I dug a trench about 8 inches deep…

…laid several inches of paver base in the trench and compacted it…

…and began laying the stone, leaning it back into the slope a little bit with each level. There are only four levels, and I probably did overkill on the prep. But I want this little retaining wall, which is at eye level from the pool surround, to look good and not sag. The tubing in front is for drip irrigation.

Finally it was done.

Now it was time to add some good soil: Hill Country Garden Mix from the Natural Gardener. Since I was already paying for delivery, I decided to get extra soil for the other raised bed, which is much bigger (I’m working on that side tomorrow). Seven cubic yards doesn’t look like all that much in the driveway, but it’s taking me a while to wheelbarrow it to the back yard. Plus it is much more expensive than the rock. But this is good stuff and made my last garden very happy.

It took about a yard and a half to top off this bed. Here it is all spic-and-span with several inches of good soil filling in the terraces.

At last, it was time to unbeach the Whale. I donned my protective goggles and heavy gloves again, but I can tell you it was much easier to unpot this toothy, 4-foot-diameter agave than to pot it up. I slipped it into a shallow hole, planting it high, and now all it needs is a mulch of decomposed granite. This is the view from the pool surround.

And this is the view from up on the patio. The agave is lovely from every angle and adds immediate substance to this bed, which also contains salvias, a rose, succulents, and Mexican oregano. I’m so glad I brought it with me and only hope that cold weather will hold off for another month and it will recover from the transplant quickly.
Long live the Whale!
All material © 2006-2008 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

0 responses to “Building a low retaining wall to unbeach the Whale”

  1. Lisa at Greenbow says:

    Amen Sister, long live the whale. It really needs a name he has so much personality. This raised bed has some happy plants in it.
    One commenter, I can’t remember who but perhaps she or he will remind us, dubbed it Moby and suggested I might be Ahab in my determination to bring it with me. That would be perfect if only the agave were white. —Pam

  2. Les says:

    It looks like you have a good new home for an old friend, and I agree that it needs a name.
    Perhaps so, Les. See my reply to the comment above. —Pam

  3. That is an inspirational amount of work. The whale looks very good in its new home. But what I had hoped to see in a picture was you in your whale-wrestling outfit! 😉
    Ahhh, I’m afraid not, Carol. That could lead to embarrassment for years to come. 😉 —Pam

  4. I cant imagine how you wrestled that Agave out of your old garden! It looks pretty vicious. I will be interested to see it when its neighbours have grown up. I struggle with architectural plants and what to plant with them.
    It was a challenge, Helen. Yes, it is indeed vicious—though of course I make excuses for it. It’s just an agave—it doesn’t know any better! —Pam

  5. Gail says:

    Pam, the limestone raised beds look great; the changes give it more stature and presence. WT looks very happy in his new home. Gail
    I’m glad the limestone gal approves! —Pam

  6. It looks wonderful in that raised bed. I love the limestone wall.
    Thanks, Susan. I was fortunate to inherit the limestone raised beds. They are nicely constructed. —Pam

  7. tina says:

    That blue plays super great off from the blue of the pool water. Beautiful.
    I hadn’t thought of that, but it really does. Thanks, Tina. —Pam

  8. Barbara says:

    How very exciting! And such a lot of work so well done!
    Congratulations, Pam. We are all probably breathing a collective sigh of relief now that permanent soil contact has been made again.
    I send you good thoughts and wishes for the best possible weather for healthy rooting.
    Thanks, Barbara. You know, I justified moving the Whale in terms of replacement cost. It’s probably worth several hundred dollars. But as you might have guessed, it was really a sentimental attachment that made me willing to tackle the transplant. I do feel very fond of him. —Pam

  9. Randy says:

    Well done, Pam. That Whale’s Tongue seemed more like a chore than a pleasure due to all the spikes. Now that is behind you, on to the less dangerous projects! This is going to be so fun watching everything! It’s like spending someone else’s money to garden! :-)I LOVE garden blogs!-Randy
    Moving the Whale was both pleasure and pain. (See my response to Barbara’s comment above.) But I couldn’t be more pleased to have it settled in the new garden. I do have a few OTHER agaves to plant as well…. —Pam

  10. Brenda Kula says:

    I was so looking forward to when you planted “the whale.” Now I see it is okay. I love that plant. Can’t wait to see what else you do.
    Brenda
    Thanks for following along, Brenda. It means a lot to me. I wondered if I’d lose readers when I moved. So thanks for sticking around to see the baby steps toward a new garden. —Pam

  11. Nicole says:

    It looks just splendid, you can see how it will form an architectural focal point—also glad that the mystery rose is that lovely red and a pretty old fashioned form.
    Me too, Nicole. Red is always OK with me, and this rose looks like a keeper—assuming it won’t turn out to be fussy. —Pam

  12. Love that stone you guys use in the Austin area. Gives your gardens a sense of place. You know where you are. Congrats on the planting!
    It’s important to have a sense of place in the garden, and you’re right that the limestone gives central Texas gardens a regional identity. What gives coastal South Carolina gardens a local look? —Pam

  13. Nancy Bond says:

    The Whale looks perfectly content in its new digs. It’s good to see photos of its planting and of the terrace you created. It should be spectacular when things establish themselves and really take hold. Well done!
    Thanks, Nancy. I hope it’ll be happy here. —Pam

  14. Jenny says:

    Now it’s starting to look much more like a Pam garden. Nice job.
    I guess it is, Jenny. It does help me to feel at home. —Pam

  15. Cindy says:

    Pam, I envy you that soil … it looks positively luscious! It’s probably similar to what we can get from Nature’s Way Resources here in the Houston area. I usually buy 10-20 bags at our Master Gardener sales each season.
    The Whale’s Tongue looks very happy in its new home. I love how the blue-green foliage echoes the blue of the pool (or vice versa). You did a great job on the wall. Patience is evidently a key component!
    Oh, that soil is good stuff, Cindy! If only it were cheaper, but it’s worth it. —Pam

  16. Racquel says:

    Looks like you found the perfect new home for your Agave. The tiered bed looks great with the limestone slabs. That soil you got is gorgeous stuff too! Looks like gardening fever has struck you Pam. 😉
    It has indeed, Racquel. When the weather cools off, that sets off the gardening alarm. Got to get busy—hot weather will return to Austin all too soon. —Pam

  17. Katina says:

    I’m so jealous about how you can add a wall, an agave, and a couple of tiny plants and make it look gorgeous. I always finish planting little plants and think “wow, looks so piddly.” I’m guessing it has something to do with the ginormousness of the cactus though.
    Hi, Katina. Yes, I think the big agave and the stonework is what’s making this look like anything right now. The other plants are all very small. But I can see them in my mind’s eye, and if all goes as planned, in a year’s time this will look much lusher. It’s nice to have stone until the plants fill in. —Pam

  18. Bonnie says:

    Moby looks very happy in his new home and I’m sure his friends will fill right in to add flair to his beautiful form.
    I hope so, Bonnie. This bed is a recreation of part of my old garden that I really liked. But I have some new plants here as well. —Pam

  19. Lori says:

    I love your limestone walls. May I ask where you got your limestone flags? I haven’t seen any for sale in my part of town. Also, yay for getting the Whale in the ground! I’m also hoping we get another solid month of warm weather since I’m moving some big plants around in my yard as well and I’d like to see them settle in so I won’t worry during the winter.
    I got the limestone flags at Daniel Stone in Oak Hill. They always have a good selection of rock. —Pam

  20. Kim says:

    I’m so happy to see that big, old lovely beast in the ground. I haven’t been holding my breath all the time he (she?) has been potted up, but almost. And it looks absolutely wonderful in that bed. Now the garden is yours. Welcome home, Pam!
    Thanks, Kim! Now that Whale is “swimming” again, it does feel like home. —Pam

  21. Camellia says:

    Wow, what an Agave (mine are so small, but the ones in Kew were biggies). Really impressive “terrace” of stones. You make it look really easy, but I bet it isn’t!
    Does it look easy? Well, it took some muscle and some time, but it was fairly easy. I admired those agaves you saw at Kew, as well as your stunning photographs. —Pam

  22. Diana Kirby says:

    What a labor of love! I am so impressed at the enormity of this project you’ve undertaken. And it looks lovely with the oregano and salvia in that tiered bed. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that winter holds off a little!
    I’m so glad it’s done, Diana! I’m happy to see it every time I look out the window, but boy it was a lot of work to move that agave from one garden to another. It better live! —Pam

  23. arythrina says:

    It looks wonderful! And so do your low stone walls… very drool-worthy!
    Thanks, Arythrina! —Pam

  24. Very nice! I love the work you did on the wall – very professional looking. And the whale looks very happy to be back in its element.
    Chloe M.
    I hope it will be very happy in its new home. Thanks for your comment, Chloe. —Pam

  25. Victoria says:

    Long live the whale indeed. (I’m going to call you Ishmael from now on.) That looked like HARD work, but you’ve created something with real impact.
    Ha! Ishmael is better than Ahab, I suppose. Thanks for visiting, Victoria. —Pam

  26. Because the ground around here freezes solid, we have to do a lot more prep before laying the first course of stone. Water expands as it freezes, so water in the soil heaves things up in the winter. You have to dig down a couple of feet and fill it with crushed stone before you even begin to lay the pavers. How much does one of those pavers weigh, do you think?
    The flagstones weighed about 30 to 40 lbs each, I’d guess. I bought about 1,200 lbs of rock altogether. As you know, we don’t have to worry about frost heave in Austin. It would certainly make the prep a lot more daunting. —Pam

  27. Frances says:

    Hi Pam, a masterful job of making the garden your own and showing us how it was done. Thanks for all the details about the trench and installation. We do learn so much from the other blogs in so many ways too. Christopher’s wall is a sight to behold, so much more mammoth than the photos convey. I was thinking of how heavy each of your stones were too, you are indeed an amazon wonder woman!
    Frances
    I think of myself more like the tortoise—slow and steady. 🙂 —Pam

  28. Phillip says:

    I think you have placed it in a great location. I have one of these now! I can’t wait to see how it performs in my garden. I first saw it on your blog.
    How fun that you have one too, Phillip. Did you find it locally or by mail order? They’re hard to find in Austin right now. —Pam

  29. Layanee says:

    It looks like it landed there! I’ll bet you wish it had given all the hauling of stone, soil and plant. It looks great though. Like a wave above the pool and how appropriate that it is a Whale’s tongue!
    It landed there alright, and I’m just glad I didn’t land under it. Whew! —Pam

  30. Pam says:

    No wonder you saved it – it is just beautiful! And those beds – I am so envious of rocks! Readily available rocks (along with the geography where rocks look natural). Your new place looks like it’s gonna be just beautiful come spring. How fun for you!
    Thanks, Pam. Rocks are not in short supply at this house. I suspect I’ll have a love-hate relationship with them before too long. —Pam

  31. VW says:

    I see I’m a couple of months behind the other comments, but just meandered onto this posting today. What a project, Pam! I don’t love agaves for my own space (not that they’d be hardy here anyway?), but the Whale certainly looks lovely in your garden. I’m glad to be able to enjoy different styles of gardening in other yards. The world would be boring if we all did the same thing. I look forward to more posts about your new beginning. Regards, VW