Upcycling in the Garden: Creating a Rustic Stone Wall From an Old Sidewalk

The finished dry-stacked "stone" wall made of upcycled sidewalk cement pieces, softened by plants like anemones, ranunculi, and potted perennials and shrubs.

When I posted last, I mentioned the redesign of our shady entrance garden. I had promised an update on “The Rockery” when it was finished, and so here it is. This will mostly be a photo blog post. The garden, volunteer work, and life in general, is keeping me running (OK hobbling) as fast as I can to keep up. If you are reading from your (free) subscription email, please click here. Doing so will let you see the photos formatted properly on the website.

The finished dry-stacked "stone" wall made of upcycled sidewalk cement pieces, softened by plants like anemones, ranunculi, and potted perennials and shrubs.
The finished dry-stacked “stone” wall made of repurposed sidewalk concrete pieces. Groupings of potted plants at each end soften the look.

Many projects don’t end up as one hoped. However, I’m really pleased with the result of this one so far. Looking back, I can’t believe we managed to rip out all the jasmine and detritus that was there!

The dry-stacked “stone” garden wall is made from an old concrete sidewalk that we tore out years ago. I like the rustic look of them for upcycling/repurposing in the garden, especially as they collect moss. Sometimes we use them as risers for large potted plants or as small retaining walls. Large pieces can be placed for informal steps, like to a garden shed. Best of all, this is a free material!

In the comments of the last post, Sue had asked about building a dry-stacked rock wall. Below is an edited version of my reply. I am only a novice so please proceed with such a project at your own risk. If any of you gardeners are skilled at building dry-stacked stone walls, please add your tips in the comments. That would be wonderful!


Building a dry-stacked rock wall I’m sure you can find expert advice out there and I’m certainly not that. So please be advised to get proper guidance. But because Sue asked, here is what I do. I find it rather intuitive and fun, rather like creating a mosaic, only in three dimensions. Carefully observe the next space you want to fill. Look at the pieces you have. Find one that fits well and doesn’t jiggle. Start at the bottom with the largest pieces, of course. As you build, be mindful that the wall is vertical–not leaning. Overlap joints in each successive row. Maneuver each piece until it locks into place. If it persists with a jiggle, add a handful of sandy dirt, decomposed granite, or a stabilizing small stone underneath. Just like how we put a matchbook under a table leg to remove the jiggle. Try to seat most rocks without the need for this fix however. Soil can wash away and may weaken the wall. If there are two or three small pieces together, use a large rock above them. This increases stability. Please wear protective gloves, eye-wear and shoes. Even if you are being very careful, rocks are heavy and injuries can happen. As I’ve gotten older, I try to use brain over brawn in the garden. For example: using leverage or tools whenever possible to reduce strain. I roll stones on the ground to location instead of carrying. Or, I use a heavy duty dolly to ferry some of them to location. There is also a type of wheeled-cart that we have which has a manual hydraulic lift. (Not sure what it was made for. Try searching for ‘manual lift table carts’.) I used that for getting some of the heavy rocks to the upper row.

From the last post, you may remember that the redesign aimed to create a more welcoming entry garden. The rock wall and groupings of potted plants create some vertical interest. They define the welcome space for when friends visit.

The stones on the other side of the rock wall are stacked in a half-moon shape. This arrangement forms a raised bed. As this is a part-shade garden, I went with some ferns and rhododendrons.

We use metal stock tanks as raised beds in this spot. This protects the plants from gophers. It also shields them from vigorous tree roots. In these there are ferns, heucheras, columbine, foxgloves, some new daphne and one azalea.

The interior of "The Rockery"--a raised bed for acidic loving plants like rhododendrons and ferns.
The interior of “The Rockery”–a raised bed for acidic loving plants like rhododendrons and ferns. I was hoping for a more blue-purple flower color than this rhododendron. And these flower clusters are larger than I wanted. But, I do love the magenta color. All plants are on drip irrigation to conserve water.

The plants for the outside of The Rockery were selected for shade/part shade and also (hopefully) deer resistance. Not all of them proved to be avoided by deer. We all know how that is, yes? They promptly nibbled the camellia down to the main trunk on the first night. I scrambled to net it and it’s finally recovering. Hopefully it will be large enough one day to be safe without netting. I’m testing out native plant yerba buena as a groundcover under the camellia. A clump of Kerria japonica was divided from elsewhere in the garden.

Garden design created by the-compulsive-gardener.com from an upcycled, dry-stacked "rock" wall (old sidewalk pieces) and and arrangement of potted plants for a shady garden.
The Rockery with shade-tolerant and deer-resistant plants. The latter didn’t prove true for some.

The bright yellow-green foliage plants stand out nicely in the shade.

A grouping of potted plants transitioning from the shady garden to the sunny west edge.
A grouping of potted plants transitioning from the north-facing shady garden to the sunny west edge. I’m delighted with the ‘Kagiri Nishiki’ Japanese maple. Also new to me is Phlomis fruticosa \ Jerusalem sage. It’s a new favorite to join old favorite Cleveland sage.

The far west edge is a shelf of succulents. A friend got me interested in them. Now little succulent arrangements are finding their way into the garden here and there. I had to carefully research which would survive our winter low temperatures and also be deer resistant. We’ll see how that goes!

A living bouquet of echinacea, euphorbia, Bidens ferulifolia, Jerusalem sage
A living bouquet of echinacea, euphorbia, Bidens ferulifolia, Jerusalem sage

I hope all of you are managing OK in these troubling times we are living through. Let’s all try to hang in there. I find it so healing to take moments to just watch a caterpillar crawl across a path, looking for a place to make its chrysalis. Or watch a bee on an allium flower. Or greet a butterfly. Amidst the darkness, there is light.

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12 thoughts on “Upcycling in the Garden: Creating a Rustic Stone Wall From an Old Sidewalk

  1. Thank you Lisa for the dry stone wall tips! You do make it sound easier than I had imagined. I love what you’ve done with the upcycled concrete and the encouragement of moss growth. I think I’m going to use a higgledy-piggledy collection of rock. It won’t be a very high wall replacing a timber wall that has rotted put over the years.
    Love the colour in your garden. The hanging hellebores and your enthusiasm!

  2. The wall looks very attractive, Lisa. I’m glad all your labor was rewarded. How fascinating that a yogurt wash encourages moss to grow. What a nice touch to have the trough with water on top of the wall.
    I also love all your other plants. There is so much beautiful color and variety. I hope someone will tell the deer that they are not supposed to like your plants! 😊
    Thank you for spreading some of your light.
    All the best,
    Tanja

  3. I enjoyed the tour of your plants — just this year I was introduced to clevelandii sage and now have three of those gorgeous plants in one area near my front door.

  4. Beautiful! Love how the wall came out. I’ve upcycled concrete from an old sidewalk in my garden too! I’ve heard called “urbanite” which makes it sound fancy 🙂 I used mine to build an herb spiral and the edge all the garden beds.

    1. Thank you Stefanie! I hadn’t heard that term used. Good to know! I’d love to see your herb spiral and how you edged the garden beds. Will have to pop on over to your site and search for it so I can see. I’ve been really holed up lately in my garden. Thanks for visiting and commenting! -lisa

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