Retaining wall, steps and pool surround

Sloped back yards are common around here, and the usual problem is that the useful flat ground is in the wrong place. A retaining wall fixes that by deciding where the flat ground goes.

The wall here curves with the line of the house and holds a planted bed above the lower level. Stamped concrete steps and a matching apron take you down to the pool surround, so the whole route from the back door to the water is on a finished surface.

Beds were mulched and planted once the concrete had cured.