Goodbye, Boring Brick: The Colorful Retaining Wall Material That Adds Major Visual Interest

When it comes to landscaping, retaining walls are a hardworking go-to option. They hold back soil, prevent erosion, and even create terraced levels in sloped yards. Many homeowners opt to use brick for theirs; while brick is sturdy and relatively affordable, it can also be a little predictable. It lacks personality. If you're wondering how to choose the best type of retaining wall to prevent flooding, boost your curb appeal, or for any other reason, why not skip boring brick and choose something that'll bring an earthy elegance to your yard? Enter sandstone.

Sandstone retaining walls are more than just a practical barrier; they're natural yard art. This sedimentary rock consists of compressed, sand-sized silicate grains. What makes it such an interesting choice for retaining walls is its varied, organic color palette. Since sand comes in lots of hues — dependent on its mineral makeup — so does sandstone. Unlike bricks, which typically have a uniform finish, sandstone comes in warm golds, rust reds, and tans, often shot through with cool-toned grays and purples.

How these hues combine varies from stone to stone; no two blocks are exactly alike. Lighter blocks reflect the bright midday sun or glow at golden hour, while darker blocks might highlight curves in the garden bed or certain plants. It's really the aesthetic possibilities that make the material one of the best stone retaining walls that will look amazing in your yard. Beyond its outstanding good looks, sandstone is also a low-maintenance, durable, and weatherproof landscaping material.

Incorporating sandstone into your yard gives you lots of creative freedom — the material bridges the gap between attractive natural feature and practical building material. Sandstone blocks come in lots of sizes, shapes, textures, and colors, so you're certain to find something you like. For a more contemporary vibe, build a wall from sleek, uniform, rectangular sandstone blocks in a neutral hue. You get the look of brick with all of sandstone's lovely color variations. Got a desert-centric or rustic backyard? Choose rough-hewn sandstone chunks or dry-stacked sandstone slabs for your retaining wall. Once your wall is completed —  following the do's and don'ts of building a retaining wall — you can enhance the stone's vibrant palette with clever plant pairings.

Lean into the Barbie-like hues in a red-pink sandstone retaining wall with a drought-hardy, bright magenta- or purple-flowering rock cress (Aubrieta deltoidea) cultivar. Or allow the abundant white blooms of Iberis sempervirens 'Candytuft' to cascade over the wall. Blue-gray or pale green stonecrops, like Sedum dasyphyllum, Sedum rupestre 'Angelina,' or Sedum takesimense 'Atlantis,' also pair well with red sandstone. A vibrant, rambling bougainvillea or some spiky, blue-green ornamental grasses are the ideal partners for a retaining wall made from gold or buff sandstone blocks. No matter the color of your sandstone, encourage native mosses — haircap moss (Polytrichum spp.) and forkmosses (Dicranum spp.) spring to mind — to colonize the slabs for an authentically aged look.