Home Improvement Ideas Outdoor Structures 17 Ideas for Stone Walls to Add Function and Design to Your Yard We have stacked, mortared, concrete, and other examples of stone walls to inspire your landscape update. By Caitlin Sole Caitlin Sole Caitlin Sole is the senior home editor at BHG. She is a writer and editor with nearly a decade of interior design expertise. She has vast experience with digital media, including SEO, photo shoot production, video production, eCommerce content, print collaboration, and custom sales content. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on May 29, 2024 Close Create a long-lasting and elegant enclosure by adding a stone wall to your outdoor space. A stone wall adds privacy, defines your yard's different spaces, such as a garden, patio, or play area, and brings visual interest and design that's both functional and beautiful. Use stone walls to grow flowering vines to add vertical color. Choose from mortared stone, stacked stone, concrete, flagstone, and more to get the exact look you want for your landscaping. Read on for examples of stone walls to inspire you to add this architectural feature. 18 Backyard Landscaping Ideas to Upgrade Your Hangout Spots 01 of 17 Undulating Fieldstone Wall An undulating stone wall creates a barrier while looking stylish at the same time. Fieldstone is a natural material for garden walls. You can either dry stack stone or use mortar to hold it together. (Dry-stacked walls should be no taller than 4 feet.) A stone wall offers a classic and long-lasting option for a natural garden backdrop. Bring Character to Your Backyard: 5 Weekend Projects 02 of 17 Combination Fieldstone and Wood Fence If you love the look of stone walls and wood fencing, why not enjoy both? This fence features a low fieldstone wall topped with a wooden shake center and crowned with small pickets. A stone foundation makes the fence look substantial. Round fieldstones are usually mortared into place because of their shape. 03 of 17 Curved Flagstone Wall Creating areas with distinct personalities makes this small backyard patio seem larger. Rethink the straight wall! This gracefully curved flagstone wall adds a stylish flourish to the backyard patio. The circular wall creates a sense of enclosure and privacy even though the wall is low. Best of all, the wall curls into a small fountain. Flagstone comes in large sheets from 3/4 inch to 4 inches thick. Quartz, granite, and limestone are common types of flagstone. 04 of 17 Low Stone Wall A low stone wall creates a clear barrier along a property line without blocking the view. Stone walls of different shapes and sizes add texture and visual interest to a home's landscaping. Walls can also be topped with pots and containers. The 17 Best Garden Benches of 2024 to Upgrade Your Outdoor Space 05 of 17 Stacked-Stone Entryway In this entryway garden, a stacked stone wall provides the structure for a garden bed. Flat stones make for a tight fit, adding strength to the wall—which is especially important if it is backfilled with soil for a planting bed. Don't be afraid to mix masonry types in a landscaping project. Here, the light stone is a great accent to the red brick. 06 of 17 Dry-Stacked Stone Wall A dry-stacked stone wall is a natural-looking choice. The spaces between stones in the retaining wall allow water to drain through, relieving pressure. Another advantage of dry-stacked stone walls is that you can create planting pockets for small rock garden plants such as sedums. 07 of 17 Stacked Block Wall Manufactured materials like concrete blocks are ideal for smooth and uniform walls. Here, the smooth lines of this concrete block wall establish a boundary and complement the clean lines of the home and landscape. Although low, this wall creates a clear delineation of space, defining a courtyard in front of the house. 08 of 17 Mortared Stone Wall A mortared stone wall can be sized to fit any landscape. Here, a mortared wall holds back a natural slope that has been terraced to accommodate planting beds. Stone is an ideal choice for garden walls because it is a sturdy, natural-looking building material. 18 Slope Garden Ideas for Planting on Hillsides or Other Uneven Ground 09 of 17 Mortared Fieldstone Retaining Wall Fieldstone makes an attractive and natural wall that complements many architectural styles. Here, even the steps are made from fieldstones and flagstones. Nearly anyone can build a low stone wall, but if you plan for a wall that's 4 feet or taller, you should hire a professional contractor who specializes in working with stone. 10 of 17 Stone and Lattice Wall Combining a stone base and latticework top creates a tall wall with see-through appeal. In this garden, the low stone walls create terraces. The lattice top adds style and gives climbing vines a support structure to add vertical greenery. 11 of 17 Flagstone Wall Slim stones stacked into a low wall make an attractive way to delineate space and add a sense of structure to a backyard landscape. Differences in stone thicknesses make building a flagstone wall with a perfectly horizontal top nearly impossible. It's much easier to fit the flagstones without regard to thickness and then choose flat pieces to create a level top. Low walls provide additional seating or a platform to display potted plants. 12 of 17 Varied-Size Stone Wall This lattice-topped wall showcases the beauty and diversity of stone. Large and small stones are mortared together to create a textural wall perfect for a cottage or country garden. The bamboo lattice trellis offers an additional feature—it gives plants a place to climb. 14 Perennial Vines to Take Your Garden to New Heights 13 of 17 Simple Stone Wall A stone wall doesn't have to be tall or mortared. Here, a simple dry-laid planter box is made of large flat stones. When building a simple stone wall, look for a variety of stone types with flat surfaces that stack easily. Low walls can be made with three to four layers of stones. 14 of 17 Stone Wall and Arch Try a stone wall if you want a dramatic and long-lasting entryway to your home or garden. Here, a castle-like entrance features mortared stones that create an arched gated doorway with an iron gate and peek-in window. Stone offers an ideal backdrop for a garden's soft foliage and blossoms. 15 of 17 Loose-Stone Retaining Wall Tame a slope with a terrace of loose-stone retaining walls. Sedimentary flat stones, such as ashlar and flagstone, are among the easiest to use when building a wall of this type. Unlike other types of retaining walls, stacked-stone walls don't need drainage systems because water escapes naturally through cracks between the stones. 16 of 17 Stone Wall Entryway A dramatic stone wall features stone steps and espaliered pear trees trained to stretch horizontally across the walls (they bear pears too!). Mortared-stone retaining walls offer long-lasting solutions to sloped yards and offer beautiful surfaces and backdrops for plantings. 7 Best Plants to Grow on a Sloped Landscape 17 of 17 Stone Block Wall When it comes to walls, anything goes, including an informal wall made with large stacked stones. More landscape art than wall, this stone structure separates the lawn from the garden in this front yard. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit