Terracing a sloping garden

[shots]

Please can I have some advice as a gardening novice. I have a back garden that slopes up away from my house. At present there are concrete steps leading up the middle and each side is grassed. The layout is slope/middle flat bit/slope/bottom flat bit/slope. It makes mowing the garden tricky to say the least. The garden is approx 40' wide by 50' length.

If I tried to put walls where the slopes were could I use the decorative concrete blocks - or would they not be man enough? They would need to be approx 3' tall

Would I need proper foundations? If so to what depth?

Is this a job for a complete novice or would I be best advised getting an expert in?
What else can I do to make it as maintenance free as possible - would the cost of patioing the flat bits be prohibitive?

Thank you

 

[masona]

Does this help to give you some idea?

 

[Thermo]

you could do it with railway sleepers.

 

[shots]

Thank you to both Thermo and masona for their help. The project continues!

 

[Thermo]

have you got any pics of it?

 

[shots]

Sorry - not sure how to upload photos - but if you imagine the water slides that undulate (though not as steep obviously!) that's what the sloping is like. I thought if I could get rid of the slopes by building a couple of little walls, I could then progress to perhaps putting slabs/chippings on the flat bits - ideally a maintenance free garden!
Thanks

 

[DennisLS]

Can't help you with the slopes I'm afraid, but to upload photo's really easily go to http://imageshack.us/