Springtime Landscaping (part 1)

It's that beautiful time of year again, and I am anxious to get started on some yard work.  This spring I've decided to re-do some landscaping that was nice and pretty at first, but now it has been kind of neglected for the past couple of years and could use some help.

Before I go any further, here is an example of the nice and pretty...

Fast forward to the present...

As you can see from the bottom pic, the landscaping has lost some of it's character...

The first step to the landscape renovation is to build a retaining wall around the perimeter of the existing plant beds and remove the steps that were once attached in the middle of the deck (see top pic).

I started by spray painting guide lines around the perimeter to give me an idea of where the wall will be placed before I start laying block.  Next was to decide on what type of block I was going to use for our new retaining wall.  After looking at several different styles, types, pricing and having multiple conversations with my wife, we decided to go with an Allen+Roth wall block that we purchased at our local Lowes.

Here are the block we chose to go with: (two styles of wall block and a wall cap)

The next step was to dig a trench where I had previously spray painted my guide lines.  I dug the trench a few inches wider than the width of the block and deep enough to hide one whole block plus an additional 2-3 inches for paver base and sand for a good foundation and leveling of the block. (see bottom pic)

To be continued...