Early last fall we built a garden wall and gate on the west side of the house, between our house and the neighbor's fence. Zachary laid 2 runs of concrete blocks with mortar. After they set, he skim coated the walls.
Once the skim coat had enough time to cure, about 2 weeks, he painted the walls with a exterior primer.
After the primer was dry, the finish color went on. We went with a beige, something neutral enough that would coordinate with whatever the color the house will be in the future.
He built a wooden gate and mounted it on the walls, along with wrought iron planters that we have had following us around for a few years. I always liked them, just didn't know where to put them. The walls seemed like a great place for them. I thought about putting real plants in them, but knew it would be a hassle trying to keep something alive in a small pot and also risk staining the walls, so we just went with some artificial greenery.
