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Help with a plant for dealing with a slope

Hollyhock22Hollyhock22 Posts: 13
in Problem solving
Hi, I am renting a new plot with an option to purchase.  I want to be sure I can make something of the the area before fully committing.  The problem area is a steep slope that I have just found an old folded up carpet covering it.  My first thought was to get rid of it but that is proving difficult as it is fully entrenched (even two of us with crow bars couldn't move it!).  Now I am thinking to leave it in situ and plant something evergreen at the top to cascade over it.  Would prefer the plant to have some summer interest in white flowers if possible.  The aspect is north east in partial shade due to a couple of trees overlooking the moors.  Many thanks for any help
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Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    Welcome.
    You don't say how big an area you want to cover but vinca will spread or some hardy geraniums but the best one, Rozanne is blue. All plants will take a season or two to get the effect you are looking for though.
    Probably the only way to deal with the carpet is to  expose it and cut it out a piece at a time 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Not evergreen but one of the best plants for such a situation is cotoneaster horizontalis which has glossy green foliage, pale pink, almost white flowers beloved by pollinators and red berries beloved by birds.   It is often planted as ground cover on difficult slopes.

    You could intermingle some creamy variegated evergreen ivies which would happily creep across the carpet and, when mature, provide late season flowers for pollinators.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Hollyhock22Hollyhock22 Posts: 13
    Hi

    Many thanks for responding.  The top of the slope is about 1 metre and the "drop" is about 4 metres.

    Have spent ages on the top tier of this garden (it is in four tiers) last spring/summer getting rid of ground ivy so have a little tingle of horror at its sheer mention.  Could you recommend something other than ivy to intermingle with the cotoneaster?

    Also whilst I have a "captive audience" I am having trouble digging out gooseberries and raspberries - the latter seem to be inter connected by some form of subterranean root highway!  Any recommendations?
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Ground ivy, the weed, is not the same plant as hedera ivy which is the decorative stuff that climbs wall, trees etc and provides shelter and food for all sorts of wildlife.

    For those roots?  A mattock and some elbow grease.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Hollyhock22Hollyhock22 Posts: 13
    Thanks Obelixx - lost count of how many roots we had to dig out - no easier option then - will end up like Popeye!
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    I would guess the carpet was "laid" to prevent the soil from sliding down the slope.  Maybe best just to cut planting holes in it  (using a sharp knife) rather than trying to remove it?

    Variegated ivy is much less vigorous than the wild green one, if that's what you've been removing, so I don't think it would be a worry.  Cotoneaster horizontalis is a good suggestion, and will provide a "framework" to support any other plants you decide to try on the slope.
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • Hollyhock22Hollyhock22 Posts: 13
    Thanks Liriodendron, what a good idea to cut planting holes.  If the carpet is there for soil slippage could you recommend what to plant that might help stabilise the soil underneath?
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    This is a good site for ideas:
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=834

    - basically, you're looking for something strong growing.  Little shrubs like euonymus which spread are good, and have a nice dense root system; winter jasmine, on the RHS list too, would look lovely threading through the cotoneaster...
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • Cambridgerose12Cambridgerose12 Posts: 1,134
    Some others: Geranium 'Salome', Geranium procurrens, Geranium 'Claridge Druce', Hydrangea petiolaris, Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum', Epimedium 'Frohnleiten', dwarf bamboo, Hypericum calycinum. Groundcovers like this will spread to knit things together, although you'll need to remove some of the carpet to ensure they have soil to root into. Perhaps you could remove it by stages as your plants spread?
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    There is at least one white flowered lesser periwinkle (Vinca minor f. alba) which should also do well there to provide groundcover for some areas.  It is not as vigorous as other periwinkles so is unlikely to get out of hand.  You can help them spread by layering (simply bury part of a stem, and it will root.)
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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