A Concrete Garden Wall
CONCRETE GARDEN WALLS Walls of concrete offer even more variety of treatment than do brick or stone. The wall itself, of course, is a simple matter of reinforced concrete, but the surface is capable of much decorative treatment. Colored stucco, ranging from white through cream to deep orange-yellow, or in the South, where the brilliance of the tropic sun permits, through pink and lavender, can be used for the surface finish. A wide variety of textures may be obtained with troweled surfaces, spatter dash, sand dash, grits, or pebble dashes. Glazed tile in plain colors, mottled, or pictorial effects are often used most effectively as insets. Where the wall is to be cheaply constructed, or as a temporary screen only, there is a very satisfactory method of construction. This consists of locust posts firmly set into the ground, with wire lath stretched between and plastered on both sides with cement stucco. Such a stucco is made from one part of cement to two parts sand and the addition of 10 per cent of lime. Such a wall is remarkably durable and very inexpensive. Its surface may be treated like any other concrete wall. It requires practically no excavation and takes up little space. It cannot be used as a retaining wall, however.