Landscape the bank and add a breeze block retaining wall and front with some natural stone built by an expert. Then look at it for a month then decide what to grow.This is a 5 year project...Good luck
Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
I have a similar slope going down to my parking area. I have tried all sorts on it, and had a lot of failures as it’s quite dry. To the plant suggestions I’d add geraniums, unfussy of conditions, and more self seeders, stupa tenunissima ponytails, poppys are good and foxgloves give good height. Oh and leave some ivy for groundcover. Don’t underestimate how hard it is standing (clinging on) gardening on that sort of slope. It’s not easy. In my garden it’s a small percentage of it, and I didn’t want to spend a lot of time and money on the most challenging bit. A steep slope is what it is and I’m ok with it. If that’s your whole back garden though (is it?) and it’s important for the view from the house, I don’t think sticking some plants in to brightening it up will work long term. I think you’ll need to get a terraced structure put in place, but wait until you have the time and money to have it done properly.
I agree with @a1154. If it's your main view then save up or terrace it yourself. Be aware too that with terracing you can find yourself looking out at wall with plants behind it! Do lots of research for different ideas. Pinterest is good. Meanwhile....lots of self seeders, non-fussy plants. Geraniums, periwinkle, ivy, maybe even clematis. I also have bluebells and, primroses and wood anemones in a shadier bit of mine. It's still a work in progress.
Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. A mix of shrubs and perennials for all year interest, the shrubs providing some structure during the winter with a few low lying evergreens would be my preferred choice. Some sort of terracing as some have suggested is going to be important- just need to figure out how much and whether local stone would do the job and avoid creating too many visible walls. Visualising how it's going to look when mature will be important. Separating the slope from the flat area near the house is going to be a tricky choice as I will need to blend in the straight lines of the limestone flags with the informal rocky slope. Maintenance using a combination of copious mulching and using a 5 foot hoe when standing at the bottom and the top of the slope was an option.
The mistake I made when dealing with a similarly rocky, sloped area above my main border was not building the stones high enough in the informal terraces I created with local stone, so I get runoff every time I water. I need to replace the existing stones with bigger ones and suggest that first time round, you make them higher than the front soil level, unlike me. You can always plant cascading, sprawling plants to soften the edges. Also, think about incorporaring access paths/steps to reach the higher bits for pruning, deadheading and watering or any other jobs where you need to get close to the plant.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Thanks for that Nollie. I have an idea for a path to run diagonally across the slope which will provide access to a terrace. Due to the width of the slope I may go for 2 'terrace' areas, one 3 foot and the the other 6 foot up, as the overal width is approx 10 foot. How large is a large stone? Thanks
How long is a piece of string 😀 You know your width but if you can work out the approximate height from ground level to the top of the slope, then think of it as looking sideways on a short flight of steps with the stair treads being the planting beds and the risers being the retaining walls (like an architect’s section), you can calculate the height of stones needed to achieve flat beds then add a few inches more to prevent runoff.
Even with a gentle slope you will be surprised as the height of retaining walls needed, so with 10-12ft width I would go for three terraces - three shallower steps rather than two steep ones that may need quite high walls. You could do it symmetrical and straight or go for more naturalistic curves and gentle slopes, with varying widths in each terrace, and stones dotted around like Joyce’s - which is lovely and what I hope mine will look like one day!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Yes Joyce's is stunning. But location, soil, aspect and climate are everything. I suspect what she has achieved in her location in Scotland won't readily transfer to Anglesey.
May I suggest Cotoneaster dammeri igrowfromseed? I too have very steep slope (0-5m in 5m) which is stabilised with this evergreen, very low growing, very low maintenance shrub. It has pretty little star flowers in early summer and then bright red berries the birds love. Dry summers and soggy winters are no problem and the soil stays put regardless of what the weather throws at it. Mine is interplanted with winter flowering Calluna. (foreground)
(I sometimes dot mine with seasonal pots as the branches are strong enough to wedge containers in to if the pots need a bit of protection from sun when I am away)
Finally got round to landscaping the rear garden. Amazed by the amount of space. Decided to keep it low maintenance with gabions, flags and slate gravel.
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In my garden it’s a small percentage of it, and I didn’t want to spend a lot of time and money on the most challenging bit. A steep slope is what it is and I’m ok with it. If that’s your whole back garden though (is it?) and it’s important for the view from the house, I don’t think sticking some plants in to brightening it up will work long term. I think you’ll need to get a terraced structure put in place, but wait until you have the time and money to have it done properly.
Meanwhile....lots of self seeders, non-fussy plants. Geraniums, periwinkle, ivy, maybe even clematis. I also have bluebells and, primroses and wood anemones in a shadier bit of mine. It's still a work in progress.
Maintenance using a combination of copious mulching and using a 5 foot hoe when standing at the bottom and the top of the slope was an option.
Thanks
Even with a gentle slope you will be surprised as the height of retaining walls needed, so with 10-12ft width I would go for three terraces - three shallower steps rather than two steep ones that may need quite high walls. You could do it symmetrical and straight or go for more naturalistic curves and gentle slopes, with varying widths in each terrace, and stones dotted around like Joyce’s - which is lovely and what I hope mine will look like one day!
(I sometimes dot mine with seasonal pots as the branches are strong enough to wedge containers in to if the pots need a bit of protection from sun when I am away)