Small Slope Erosion on Fence Line
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Small sloping garden, small budget. Ideas?
Comments (4)Drainage is a tricky thing, especially when the backyard is draining towards your house. You'll want to be very careful that you don't do something which in 'wet' years will cause problems for your foundation. You say the right side is all concrete? But in your "from the bedroom" photo it looks as if theres grass and dirt past those iris leaves. IÂll assume if that is concrete, thereÂs only a thin covering of dirt and grass, so you could build a basic raised bed for planting. This will even things out, and allow some height so you can have a much prettier view outside your bedroom window, with complete privacy as new plants grow in. Using the link below to a collage I made, what would you think about looking out at this instead? Think moderate height, interesting foliage, partial shade shrubs. This doesnÂt look like a large area, which helps keeps costs down. Your costs would be mulch, some pressure-treated lumber, soil, and 3 to 6 shrubs from container, depending on the size of the bed. I donÂt know if youÂre East Cst zone 9 or West Cst zone 9. IÂm the latter, so what I used (all evergreen, BTW) was: Top left: Pink cestrum. This grows very fast, vase-shaped at maturity, flowers almost continuously, hummers love it. About 6-8 H at maturity, 4 across but takes pruning very well. Right side: Tibouchina heteromalla. This can be a tricky plant to find and grow, but once correctly sited itÂs stunning and grows fast. ItÂs a tropical understory plant, so canÂt take too much sun but is somewhat frost-tender. 5 T and at least 6 across at maturity. The leaves are an amazing fuzzy, silvery gray-green that stops people in their tracks. I have had more people ask me what this shrub is, than any other I have. Once a year it puts up tall spikes of brilliant purple flowers, simply gorgeous. Do not get T. urvilleana, which is more common but a much more scraggly, leggy shrub. (If this wouldnÂt work in your zone, something like a variegated rhododendron, or even an Aucuba japonica 'Mr. Goldstrike' or ÂGold Dust would add year-long interest and foliage contrast.) I added a couple of ferns just to fill in the space. But IÂd prefer to add something more interesting, such as Abutilon ÂSavitzi or even ÂThompsonii if thereÂs room. A dwarf camellia would work, but they grow very slowly. The jade plant thatÂs there seems to be leaning into the walkway. You might want to move it  they can get quite large across at maturity so they may outgrow that space theyÂre in. Fill in with smaller plants that youÂll see when youÂre outside  dwarf hydrangeas, fuchsias, liriope, or even shade annuals from a six-pak. The brunnera ÂJack Frost has been a great performer in my shady bed, and the baby-blue flower spikes are charming. The seating area with the fountain as shown, is just leveled with mulch as a temporary measure until you work out your fencing and terracing solutions. Anyway, HTH spur some ideas for you! Good luck, itÂs always very exciting to consider possibilities for new landscaping....See MoreInexpensive shrub to prevent soil erosion on hilly slope
Comments (8)As you have found out, anything you plant on the slope is going to have to be weeded. 'Shading out' weeds isn't really a viable strategy when talking about woody weeds. Since the forest primeval was a very dark and gloomy place, a lot of the plants that grew there adapted to growing for years in quite heavy shade. So planting a thick shrub simply makes it harder to get at the weeds when they have grown taller than the shrub and become visible. Around here, it is very common for maples and sumac to suddenly show themselves over the top of junipers when nobody has weeded out the juniper bases. The usual, practical solution is to see if the slope is mowable. If it is, then let the lawnmower deal with the mess. If it isn't, then plan on going through it once or twice a year and pulling weeds....See MoreErosion on a slope
Comments (3)Grass only grows where there is sun. Where it will not grow because of lack of light, you must plant groundcover to hold the soil. Mulch can be used, too, but it is best as a temporary solution. Gravel mulch can be permanent, but its use is usually best limited because there is a downside to removing if future changes warrant. Also, it's more expensive. And it's not as good at preventing erosion as a good groundcover.. Not really sure what you are showing us a picture of ... the circular thing. Why do you think you need a retaining wall? I see plenty of room for a swing set....See MoreNeed help landscaping backyard with slope and erosion
Comments (8)Are the trees' roots exposed or are those mostly rocks? You want something that stays close to the ground to absorb the impact of the water. With shade your choices may be somewhat limited. Vinca is ubiquitous around here. You can plant other little plants in between. Various wild geraniums are popular around here, and liriope, perhaps some ferns. I had a plant called sweet woodruff covering the ground in the shade at my last place, very pretty in the spring. Some other classics are small bleeding hearts and ajuga, (actually anything in the mint family, like native mountain mint or horsemint which you can grow from seed) and perhaps some thymes although they need a bit more sun, also woodland strawberry and virginia creeper are natives that are used and there is a dwarf goat's beard that is beautiful. Yarrow is good in partly sunny areas. Someone on here once told me about creating little pockets of good soil surrounded by rocks. I see you are good with the idea of trying to spread that water from your drainpipes out as much as you can instead of concentrating it. A good thing to do is create pockets where the rainwater can be absorbed to control the erosion, but the trees roots run contrary to that objective. I would just try planting things and see what takes off. That's what I do on my hillsides, just keep trying to get vegetation established. We use natural wood chips too, to hold down the soil....See MoreNone
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