Retaining wall, water and wine: Northwest Comfortable outdoor living space (photos)

Rick McCutcheon ofThe Wall wants to hear about your steep slope. Your unstable ridge. Your unusable yard space.

He has a solution.

As visitors to the Portland Home and Garden Show's Excellence in Landscaping Competition see when they stop at the Northwest Comfortable outdoor living environment display, retaining walls have come a long way.

McCutcheon has teamed up with Larry Borlin ofBorlin Landscape Services to show what man-made stones, combined with construction and landscape expertise, can create.

They have incorporated a patio, walkway and arbor with beautiful landscaping. Adding to the year-round living space are a fire pit and a water feature.

The display is corralled inside a low wall of stones, set in a clean-lined, mosaic pattern. It is one of 14 elaborate entries in the Excellence in Landscaping competition at the Expo show, which closes at 6 p.m. tonight .

McCutcheon, whose business has been erecting concrete retaining walls since 1982, says his customers want functional, easy-to-maintain outdoor spaces.

But that's not all. Comfort, relaxation and a sense of escape also play a part in this landscape. Is that a wine glass holder in the arm of a chair made of old wine barrels? Come over and see for yourself.

The Portland Home & Garden Show at the Expo, 2060 N. Marine Drive, Portland

Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19 and Friday, Feb. 20, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22.

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Retaining wall, water and wine: Northwest Comfortable outdoor living space (photos)