Thanks for the compliments! In Cali you have to take advantage of every inch of space you have. If I planted zucchinis and cukes in the ground already, can I transplant them? If so, when? My zukes have sprouted their seed leaves, but not their true leaves. I want all my kitchen garden in this part of the yard, but I want something that will grow over the wall. What do you think of planting thyme and rosemary in the 3x1 boxes with a cucumber and squash this year, before the rosemary and thyme fill in? BTW, does anyone else have trouble logging in from Firefox? I can only login from this computer, my other one doesn't let me???

Hi Everett: Thought I might add a bit to the discussion here. In your initial post you mentioned leveling sand. FA-2 (torpedo) sand is for the bedding course on brick patios. You should not be using sand for any part of a wall base. Gravel for wall bases in Northwest Indiana should be what is commonly referred to as "Grade 8", also designated as CA-6. This is compactable gravel for the entire wall base. There would be no sand and no other gravel in the base portion. Base compaction is normally done in 2" lifts unless you have an industrial compactor. To echo Revolutionary Gardens comment, using a hand tamper will not be satisfactory to compact the base. Rent the biggest compactor you can handle. The gravel behind the wall (between the wall and the patio should be what is commonly referred to as "3/4 Clean", also designated as CA-7. This is free draining gravel and would be behind 100% of all walls we build, whether they are modular like yours or natural stone like the photo below. Free draining gravel eliminates hydrostatic pressure and surcharge, which means your wall will not tip. Your wall height is such that 4-6" behind the wall should be satisfactory. On the outcropping wall in the photo below you can see the space behind the wall during construction. This is where the CA-7 goes. From one NW Hoosier (formerly) to another......good luck with your project.

You don't say what the dimensions contained by your retaining wall are. If it's just a few feet between the walls (as in, a terrace), you're going to end up with a nice layer of sod at the base of your retaining walls, as noted above. If the retaining walls surround your 75x100 yard, mounding the sod six inches over the walls in the middle won't be problematical, and as you say, you could taper the hump. At some point, you're going to want to attack that clay. If I were you, I'd dig it out in a limited piece of bed, put in some deep good soil there, plant some perennials on top, and then plant annuals elsewhere. Do some more every year. A thin later of sod on top of clay virtually guarantees an underground puddle.

Typically, back yard neighbor's who are outside using their back yards do not want to see other neighbors who are also outside using theirs, or be seen by them. Serviceberry would make good backdrop trees, whereas the existing trees in the lawn will be shade trees and, presumably, limbed up, not being good for privacy. BTW, it is common that plantings for screening exist near property lines and that the foliage of these planting grow into the adjacent yards. That's a fact of life because everyone does not live on a 5-acre estate, but most everyone wants some degree of privacy from their neighbors. Privacy screens installed by one neighbor usually, simultaneously benefit the adjacent neighbor, which is why people do not mind this condition much, or at all, so long as the plants are not obnoxious or invasive.