Uploaded August 2017 | Updated September 2026, 14 hours ago

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successfulgardendesign.com/show7
In this episode, professional, international garden designer Rachel Mathews will feature sloping gardens, steps and how to deal with a retaining wall and changes in level. She will reveal her simple method for linking different level changes within the garden.

This video is a quick sketch challenge for an existing garden in Scotland which needs re-doing so a retaining wall and steps can be added. You will learn how Rachel sketches over the existing sloping garden to re-design it using oval and curve shapes.

Rachel will also talk about tips and ideas on putting in steps and a retaining wall. She will discuss how wide or narrow the steps should be and how it affects the retaining wall that you will put up. This will also help with making the garden look and feel larger.

You must think about the entire garden...

She will also tackle level changes and do it in a way where the garden looks much more inviting. She will give you advice on the measurements for the levels on the steps and what the average measurement is.

She will also mention some suggestions on what you can put beside the retaining walls, like dense planting as barriers so no one falls off the patio and it also makes it feel even more open in that area. At the end of this episode, in just a few simple garden design sketches, you will see how effective the lawn and patio shapes are and how the curves draw your eyes down the landscape of the garden.

What Would You Like to See Covered in Future Shows?

I'd love to get your ideas for future shows so that this can be as beneficial to you as possible. Leave a comment me know what topics you'd like me to delve into in future episodes in the comment boxes below?

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