Be certain that this is something you plan to use for years and years as the ROI on homeowner-specific improvements are not very high.  Budget for the concrete work involved is usually around $15-20K alone, not including the poles and painting.  If you plan to sell your home in less than 10 years or would need the court for less than 10 years, don't do it.  A new upgraded entry way, minor kitchen update, interior room/living space addition or new Hardie Board siding will give you a much better return on investment.

You need to make sure that the material allows water to pass thru the block or stone.  Both choices can allow water thru if planned ahead.  Blocks can have weep holes that allow water to pass and many faux stone products are designed for drainage. 

Give a place for the water to go -

Mark, the answer depends on the topo ie the slope and terrain. Consult a local structual engineer..

proper drainage away, footers, rock, filter cloth, french drainect ect ( water is a hydrolic tool)

The design and layout are also important

*** A great engineer showed us the value of reenforcing a wall with a block planting box....  this gave an enormus amount of protection from failure

Best of Luck

Billy Gavigan

Gavigan

As a builder I could tell you there is no right answer. I built my home on the water and I have switched from eal grass to artificial . My reasoning was to conserve water and time. Now I can also focas my time on other things. I've addded a complet creek that runs down my entite property into the lake and addded palm tees and other floweers and tees. The amazing thing is hoe green my yard always appears from lake and now I have installed over 20 other homes with the same product. For me the switch was completely worth it as well as all the new clients I've gathered from it. It's a personal decision for sure. www.greenbuiltwa.com

1. Do not think about doing it yourself.

2. Check with a treee removal professional

3. Check with the city in which you live and inquire if there are any restrictions on the size of tree that can be removed.

4. Get two or three prices

5. Check the location of the utities and clearly mark them.

6. Day of work, if they are on your property they have to put cardboard under the their truck to catch oil leaks

7. Double check on what is "leave the work area clean" get this part very clear.

Philip Anderson

HDR Remodeling

Berkeley Ca

I'm with you guys on the eating part! We had a bupper crop this year and the freezer is full. For those areas where we don't want them, there is product we found at Southern States that works. I bought it for our poison ivy but it ended up working on other things. The name escapes me, but it come in larger bulk containers and you mix w/ water.

I would wait until the first frost, that very next day spray or paint leaves with Crossbow (if spraying isn't an option, as in beds with other plants or single shoots).  The sap in the stems will draw the herbicide down to the roots as the blackberry plant goes dormant in winter and kill it at the roots.  May have to repeat again the next year, but it has been very effective for us.    

I second the nursery, but also make sure your soil is plant friendly. I lost a pretty large investment in trees because my soil is not good for growing. Next time around I will need to condition the area I plan to plant.

Dig it up and send it to me. I love blackberries.

I also like the goat idea. We used to raise them, and they will indeed eat anything they can ingest, so you have to be careful about not only what you want to keep, but any potentially dangerous or poisonous plants in the area.

On the chemical side, a quality broadleaf herbacide or roundup should kill it. At least for the season.

Eat Them!!  

They have places that you can rent goats from.  They are prolific eaters.