Ideas For Landscaping a Hill

by Jason

We are planning to put up a privacy fence on our lot. We have discovered that we own more land than we thought. What we have is a very rocky hill and a flat piece of land that has sage and other weeds on it. Any ideas of what I can do with this? Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sloped Front Yard

by Michelle
(Birmingham, AL.)

Planting On A Sloped Front Yard

We built our house and have done NOTHING in the way of landscaping. I'M READY!
The problem (for me) is that the front porch is about 50'long. Looking at the house, the bottom of the porch on the left end is about 2' off the ground; then the ground slopes, and by the time you get to the other end the bottom of the porch is prob 12' off the ground. Not sure what to plant across the front to look even.
HELP

Hi Michelle,
I understand. That can be an issue.

A mixed planting is best. I would use groups of taller shrubs at the taller end and lower ones at the shorter end (where the porch is 2' high). Plants to use would depend on your sun conditions.

1. Is the area sunny or shady?
2. Do you have a deer problem?
3. How much space is there, and is it broken up by steps? If so, how long is each side?

Front Lawn Landscaping Slope

by Sharon
(PEI , Canada)

Hi,
I'm in zone 4/5. I have a sloping front lawn approximately 250 wide and 200 deep, with a slant of 6 feet to the road. WE HAVE A BEAUTIFUL VIEW to the NE and NW with houses in front to the north. I would like to add curb appeal to the yard but don`t know how or what. Can you help please?

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ANSWER

Hi Sharon,
There are so many ways to design a sloping property. It all depends on how much of a change in elevation there is and for what distance, among other things.

You mentioned you have a 6 foot change in elevation, but it makes a big difference as to how long of a distance that is. Six feet over 20 feet is totally different that 6 feet over 100 feet.

I'd love to help you out, but I need some additional information.

1. How long is the distance of the slope?
2. Is the area sunny or shady?
3. Do you have a deer problem?
4. Would you like to block the houses to the north, or is this not important to you?
5. How wide is your property?

In addition, if you could possibly send some pictures (either in another Submission here, or get in touch with me through my Contact Page), that would be helpful.

You can also take a look at my page on landscaping slopes (unless you have already!).
Landscaping Steep Slopes

Thanks,
Susan

Sloping Front Lawn Needs Landscaping

by Mrs. G.

I have a sloping (very as in hill but sodded) lawn and we need to do something with it as the sodding (the developers did) really isn't working - all the water runs to the bottom so the bottom 20 feet across the lawn(150ft) is nice and green. It lacks any curb apparel, and I need ideas.
Can you help?
Thanks
sbg

ANSWER

Hi,
If I had a picture or two, that would be helpful. Also...are you looking for some ideas or a design?

Thanks,
Susan

Sloped Front Yard and Landscape Retaining Walls

by Chase
(Buchan)

Sloped Front Yard And Retaining Walls

I have a foursquare/bungalow stucco house on a city lot in Richmond,VA. The house has a very high front porch across the entire front of the house set up about five to six feet above the foundation planting area.

The foundation presently is about seven feet wide and slopes away from the house downward at a pretty steep grade and ends at a smallish, flat front lawn. I'm having trouble with the foundation planting. How do I tie the house down and what plants should I be using to cover the slope?

I have thought about using two retaining walls to divide the slope into two levels. There is a central set of seven concrete steps up to the porch. One side of the steps gets full sun all morning & the other is sun/some shade. Any suggestions?

Answer

Hi Chase,
Before I can give you some ideas, I need to know the following.
1. What is the distance of the slope until it become flat?
2. From the porch area to the bottom of the slope, how much of a change in elevation would you say there is?
3. Do you have a deer problem?

Whether you use one or two landscape retaining walls will depend on this information. What types of plants to suggest will depend on the retaining walls and how deep the beds will be.

Let me know. You can post right back here by clicking Comments below.

Regards,
Susan

Steep Front Slope Landscaping

The front yard in the front of my house is painfully steep. We bought the house five years ago and have avoided doing any "major" landscaping to the front without seeking advice (obviously we don't know much about landscaping).

Currently, the steep front yard has a huge limestone placed bed...to say the least it is hideous and has weeds coming through. What we would like to do is remove the rock and landscape the slope using shrubs, trees, flowers, etc.

We don't really want to put in a retaining wall because we fear it would be too massive and not give the house an aesthetic curb appeal (not to mention we do not want to spend 30K on a wall). If anyone has any suggestions about plants, materials, or even a design we would more than appreciate the help. Thanks.

DJ, from Southwest Virginia

Large Hill in Backyard

by Racheak
(Peoria, IL)

Our house sits at the bottom of a major hill, we are in the process of trying to fix the erosion problem that has occurred over the years. Right now it is a clean slate (all dirt and mud), but we are looking for design ideas as inexpensive as possible to help with erosion and still look nice.

It is not a small slope it is a hill that is taller than our house. My husband is a heavy equipment operator and has made two flat areas in the hill (terraced it). We will need to put in proper drainage, retaining walls, and ground cover. Can anyone help with ideas?

Landscaping a Sloped Back Yard

by Millie Jensen
(Beloit, Wisconsin)

What do I do with a section of my backyard that is sloped?

It isn't awful to mow, but an inconvenience when walking up, especially when carrying something. One of the big problems is, water drains down this slope.

Just as you walk through our privacy fence door, we put a sidewalk leading to our screened in porch. To the right of the sidewalk, I have landscaped with river rock, stepping stones, a fountain, and shaded perennials.

On the left side, we tried to grow grass, and with all the water draining, we could never get it to grow. So, I continued with the river rock, spireas, and some fountain grass.

Along the side of our screened porch and continuing all the way to our patio, we have natural stones(big ones!)that contain tons of beautiful ground cover. I did not put this in;it was there when we bought our house 2 years ago.

I absolutely love this view. I just would like to know what I can do with the area that is sloped. It isn't a steep slope by any means. I would like to "combine" all of it together. Our back yard is of good size.

I would love for this area to be basically a overall "focal" point. If you have any ideas or suggestions, I would GREATLY appreciate them!! Thank you so much.

Sincerely,
Millie Jensen

House is Down Hill

by Charlotte Berry
(Fairfield, Texas)

Our home sits at the bottom of a road going down hill. The problem is keeping the water from washing away soil and running to my front door.

We are considering moving the metal edging but not sure where to go from here to reroute the drainage. I'm open to making larger, curved beds in front if that will help.

Charlotte Berry

Please help a sloped front yard.

by Dawn
(Maryland, USA)

Planting On A Slope | Hillside Plantings

Hello,

I have a sloped front yard that we have not done anything with since we moved in with the exception of cleaning up the stone retaining wall. In my opinion the slope is an eyesore and a hassle to mow.

At first I wanted to put in terraces but have realized that this is not in our budget. So now I am planning on mulching and planting on it. I live in zone 7 in Maryland and the slope gets full sun. I am wondering what plants should I use (I'm hoping to use very hardy plants) and how to plant them (in groups or rows, etc.). Please help!!!

Thanks so much!
Dawn

Answer

Hi Dawn,
Planting on a slope can be a challenge!

I would do a mix of groundcover, perennials and some evergreen shrubs. I would even add an ornamental tree (which will provide some shade too), such as a Flowering Dogwood.

Consider using Ajuga as a groundcover, which works well on hillside plantings. It's a bit aggressive (which is good in your case!), and it will take full sun. There are many varieties...some with bronze foliage, 'Bronze Beauty', and some with purple leaves.

For perennials, there are quite a few. One of my favorites is Nepeta 'Walker's Low'. It gets purple flowers and has quite a long season of bloom. Loves the sun. Also...Lavender. Tumbling Roses would be great. You could use Carpet Roses or one called The Fairy. Day Lilys would be nice, as would Coreopsis Moonbeam (pale yellow flowers), a Butterfly Bush, Salvia, and Lamb's Ear.

You can really use most any perennials for the sun when planting on a slope.

Add masses of Juniper, such as Blue Rug or Procumbens.

Regarding the planting design, plant in groups of a minimum 3 of a kind...5 to 7 would be better. No straight lines. Vary the colors and textures.
Repeat the same group a few times here and there.

Take a look at this page which might be helpful. Ignore the Honeysuckle and the Hydrangea in the list, as they like some shade. But do look at the picture...it's a slope.

Regards,
Susan

Backyard Slope

by Martha
(Moreno Valley ,CA)

I live in a house that has a slope on the back , so I would like to know what I can plant up there. I love color, so I would like to make it look very nice.

ANSWER

Hi Martha,
I get a lot of questions like this. Take a look at my response here for some ideas.
https://www.landscape-design-advice.com/landscaping-slopes-comments.html

Susan

Planting Slopes

by Rebecca
(Lexington,N.C.)

What types of plants are best for shady slopes, if you want ground cover?

Landscaping Slopes

by Helen
(Pennsylvania)

Here's my question:

I would like to get design ideas to re-do a sloped triangular area next to my driveway. It is about 34' long and 10' high, with a southern exposure. I would like to use two types of shrubs [Barberry and another evergreen) to tie in with the foundation plantings at the front of the house and an ornamental grass variety. I usually keep annuals or spring bulbs planted in the tip near the street.

The problem is that I'm not sure whether to plant in straight lines, group the same type of plants together in three large areas, or mix them all up. I live in western PA so winter interest is a concern - when cutting back the grasses, there will be bare spots. There are some open areas now where some shrubs have died.

Ironically, the ones that have thrived are threatening to grow over the sidewalk or driveway. Please help me to do it right this time!

I've attached a picture.

Landscape Design Ideas For A Slope Near a Pool

We have a swimming pool that's fairly flat on one side only. The other 3 sides gently slope downward to the fence about 6 feet. At the present time we have gravel on the slope but this isn't practical to walk on. Plus it gets on the feet and then in the pool liner.

I wanted river pebbles on the slope to match my other landscaping but my husband thinks the pebbles would not stay in place. Is there an alternative product that I could place on the gravel. We have 6 feet of concrete around the pool.

Sloped Yard

We want to help our mother, 73 years old, have a very low maintenance yard but she has a big slope in the back yard. What ideas would you have?

ANSWER
It all depends on the amount of area involved and how sloped it is. Another factor is whether the area is sunny, shady or a little of both.

Groundcover or very low plants, such as Juniper, often are an easy solution with little maintenance. Juniper likes the sun. Which groundcover you use depends on sun conditions.

Pachysandra, Ivy, and Vinca all like shade or partial sun. Ajuga will take almost any conditions and can be aggressive. When covering a slope this can be good!

If the slope is not too severe, you can plant some large shrubs and groups of perennials, covering the rest of the area with mulch.

Susan