Building a pavilion 12x14, have set four concrete foundations in forms in each of the four corners. Next step is to build the patio 16x14 and have identified that the land pitches away to a max of 12 inches. I am bringing in fill dirt to get my level and I plan on setting the stone on a 4" bed of crusher run plus 1" sand. I am thinking a block retaining wall would be best to hold back the fill dirt but as I don't want to see the block I will either face it up or build a second retaining wall and create a raised flower bed. My question is, could I get away with just the second retaining wall or should I continue with my original plan? I'm unsure if the raised bed wall (using big box retaining wall blocks) will be sufficient to hold back the fill dirt.
Thanks in advance

 

So in option one, the wall is 24" and the flower bed is say 12"

Option two, the flower bed is also 24"

Either way your still building a 24" wall to hold everything in, think it's just a choice of what looks best.

You mention 4" of base, might want to look into that, I always put down 10-12" of compacted crushed limestone to provide a solid base with sufficient drainage.

 

Back filling will require proper compaction. Do not try to cut corners when doing your filling. 4" of stone on top of improperly compacted fill will settle and ruin your patio.

I would look at a dry stacked retaining wall instead of CMU. CMU will require a poured footer, filling the block and then some kind of facing to make it pretty. A dry stack, engineered retaining system can be placed on a gravel footer and are available in many different styles so you can pick an aesthetic you like.