Karin, I prefer not to landscape across slope. Flaw is probably the wrong word and I'll just assume it wasn't the intention. I apologize but I read your paragraph several times and was unable to interpret your comments regarding the second picture reference. I felt as if I was trying to decipher one of Ink's posts. Bahia, Yeah I went back and forth with the posts. I received confirmation on the wood type so we went ahead and put felt around the posts and buried them with 4" of concrete. The post itself is on a footing. The post next to the retaining wall isn't buried. Pls, Not sure if you're just making a general point about improper grade or not. The only thing I would change is that I'd have the area where the retaining wall is now cored out further past the post. I still might do this...probably not though as the wall following the line of the concrete and ending where the deck ends above looks good to me. I currently don't have any erosion issues and actually happy with the grading. At the end of the day I've gotten some great feedback and will take in certain elements to refine the plan. I'm feeling better about what I have and the changes I plan to make. I'll post an update in a few months. I'll leave you with this. This is what a professional landscape designer put together. I took issue with the boring straight line plantings around the lot lines but took some ideas from the perimeter of the home.

Thank you all for your suggestions, they are all very helpful. bullthistle: Evergreens and curves both sound like a very good idea. petzold6596: All the building code says about cleanouts is that they must have 18" of accessibility in front of them, doesn't specify anything about height. I will try and cut the pipe down and cap it off, and maybe paint it black while I am at it. annz: If I build the wall it would only be one or two feet high. How would you see me doing a step down? Just split down the middle, one half lower than the other? genuineimitation: If I don't build a low wall, what would you suggest I do about the visible erosion under the steps and stoop? I'd need to build it up, but without a wall I think it would just eventually erode away again. I don't have a lot of property, so I wouldn't have room for anything bigger than a bush on the smaller side of the front yard. Thank you for your other suggestions about design. I'm glad you like the house and the door!

I think it's unreasonable to think you'd need to go ALL the way down to original grade with fence posts in order to have a sturdy fence. What you do hinges on the strength of the wall which, of course, we can't gauge from afar. But it appears to be a solid, poured concrete wall, so likely it's strong and adequately stabilizes the soil for a fence erected nearby. In spite of that, it might be as much questions about other things that guide what you should do with the fence. The first of those questions would be appearance. Consider extremes in order to help determine what will be good. One extreme would be a fence directly on top of the wall, extending its plane. Since the retaining wall is a plain, unadorned, flat surface and a "modern" fence with horizontal elements is likely to look similarly hard, raising the height in the same plane is likely to start looking like a military installation, sending messages like: keep out ... off limits ... secret ... Bin Laden used to live here ... etc. To the contrary, stepping the wall back a few feet, is going to give a friendlier appearance. The next question to consider is the construction of the wall. A good retaining wall is built with a layer of drainage gravel directly behind it. Water is collected at the bottom of that layer and piped out from behind the wall so as to prevent pressure pressure from building up (and trying to push the wall over.) In the pictures, a border of gravel is seen at the surface of the back side of the wall. I'm thinking this is probably an extension of the drainage gravel all the way to the surface. Whether it is or isn't, it would be a good idea not to place the fence posts directly behind the wall where they would be in the gravel layer. Thus, there are two good reasons to step the fence back from the wall face. Given the scale of the property, I'd say a 3' set back would work well. I wouldn't go less than 2'. Might go 4'. If you want more specific advice, show the property from the curb, but lined up with the center of steps, and take slightly overlapping pictures that shows all the way from the left neighbor to the right neighbor ... so we can see the complete scene. Also, show a plan view of how the retaining wall is laid out on the property. I am not against the "modern" look at all but think you must consider how it integrates with its surroundings. It might be more modern looking if all the plants on and surrounding the property were vaporized and one created a look along the lines of a power company sub station ... like a desert of gravel and an engineered looking patch of grass. Hmmmm .... maybe that would be a little unfriendly looking ...? Actually, I think your modern-looking house looks fine with the trees and greenery around it. SHADE is a nice thing ... more friendly than blazing sun. Along these lines, I'm thinking that maybe extending your retaining wall with another hard, fairly plain surface, is going to be just too much hard and plain. Personally, it would be for me. Because something has a friendly surface does not mean it contradicts compatibility with "modern." To the contrary, I think a friendly surface has the ability to HELP modern look better. One such example that comes to mind is how creeping fig can cover a wall in greenery, while at the same time looking very "modern." Here are examples (one of them doesn't qualify as modern.) I'm not suggesting creeping fig, but using it as an example of a "look" that is compatible with "modern" but still not unfriendly. Even if a "hard" fence is used, I think there must be something interesting and friendly about it.

I had the same issue, except with a timber wall. A heavily leaning timber wall with no dead man stringer (sleepers). We removed the wall, brought in new fill, and had the hillside re-contoured to give a move natural easy contour. We didn't put in a new retaining wall, and we did lose some of the flat backyard space. That was the downside. The upside is that it looks far more natural and easy on the eyes. The hillside is far enough from the house that water runoff is not an issue. If you don't have the space to re-contour, better to bite the bullet and get a proper retaining wall put in place now before its too late.