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stabilising clay banks on wet and windy slope
blue remembered hills
Posts: 1
having dug 45 degree banks into a clay field ( solid cracks in summer /liquid clay in winter) to erect a garage what does anyone suggest to help prevent a landslide !
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Posts
..touch of the old Dennis Potter's going on here...lol..
a photo of the site would be helpful...
We have a similar bank around two sides of our garden and it is also clay. It has grass growing on it which seems to keep it stable but is a real pain to keep short so I wouldn't really recommend it.
pampas grass would do the trick. I've seen it used next to the A3 in Surrey and also around a steep bank here in Devon.
You could get away with something more interesting if you terraced the back a bit.
If the area's large I'd be looking at the cellular geo-textiles that you fill with soil and plant up, like they use on the side of motorways etc. http://www.boddingtonsonline.com/products/grass-ground-reinforcement/ground-stabilization-slope-stabilization/typar-geocell-for-slope-stabilization.php
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
It would have been a good idea to ask that question before you dug the hole! How high is the slope above and below your dig? Is there any different layer above or below your dig? What about drainage?
I'm non-techie - I'd bung is some periwinkle - mixture of small and large flowered, and also the variegated leaved one, oh and the double flowered one. They are all rampant - spread like crazy - flower all year - evergreen - and if they threated to overcome you clip back with secateurs.
...and don't pay out hard-earned cash - ask around and there's bound to be somebody who will give you a few roots.
In reality clay rarely moves once banked, the main problem will be run off from rain gathering at the base of the bank. Drainage around the base of your garage will be an issue during winter, it doesn't really matter what you plant on the bank, just plant shrubs which can cope with clay or grass. You'll need to slow the run off and make sure you have a soak away around the base of your garage.