Sitting Walls « MasterPLAN Outdoor Living

Drive around rural Pennsylvania, and you’ll see the rambling stone walls that farmers built in the last century (or two) to mark the borders of their property. The walls served two purposes: marking their property and keeping their neighbors’ cows from eating the crops. The farmers would pick up the stones from the soil as they cleared the land to be tilled. Legend has it that a group of farmers would get together to help build their neighbors’ walls, much like they’d get together for a barn raising. They would make a fun afternoon of it, and place a jug of hard cider every 25 feet or so. They would build the wall, stone by stone, until they reached the jug. Then they’d take a break for a libation. A long wall might take two or three or even four jugs, depending on the number of men and how good the cider was. This might explain why some walls are straighter than others.

You may not have to keep your neighbor’s cows from eating your corn, but modern stone walls can also serve multiple purposes. In addition to defining space by adding a beautiful frame, they can be designed to provide additional casual sitting to your outdoor space.

Modern stone walls can be built from field stones, but cemented into place to last longer. Traditional stone walls, usually built just by stacking field stones, had to be rebuild ever 30 years or so. Walls can also be built with paver stones, which lends a more professional, unified finish to the wall.

Build a partial sitting wall around an outdoor hot tub, and you can give bathers a great way to cool off in the air. Build it around your fire pit or grill, and you can protect your fire from strong breezes.

For help in designing and installing a sitting wall, contact MasterPLAN Landscape Design & Installation. Because the best living room is the one outdoors.

Sitting Walls

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