Fixing a hillside house after a landslide
Olia Agboton
10 days ago
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Olia Agboton
9 days agoRelated Discussions
ugly steep hillside; need help/ideas
Comments (15)I don't think you'd be looking for a tidy groundcover like one might have in a refined garden, but something a little more "wild" for that bank ... like lespedeza, grasses, wildflowers ... things that could be seeded. things with arching forms that look good cascading down hillsides. I would still push for suggestions from local landscapers. Make more calls. It would be helpful to know what is being used locally for hydroseeding banks. This post was edited by Yardvaark on Sat, May 11, 13 at 0:19...See MoreHillside Ivy Challenges
Comments (25)I would suggest waiting until after the rainy season, too, because then you can allow the area to remain dry for a long period of time, killing the ivy roots, making re-sprouts and attempted (because they often don't work all that well on rhizomatous plants with glossy leaves -- cut stem painting as suggested above more likely to be effective) use of herbicide less necessary. A few years ago, I personally removed more than 2500 sq. ft. of ivy (English and Canary/Algerian) from slopes in my garden soon after moving in, in late spring. I did it by hand with a little mattock, chopping roots and rolling the ivy up like a rug as I went along. I did not use herbicide and got very little re-sprouting, no doubt because the slopes were left totally dry all summer/fall after removal. I then planted with native shrubs just ahead of the following wet season. Erosion control fabric or netting can be used to reduce surface runoff. I also planted a native annual grass, Vulpia (now Festuca) microstachys and perennial grass Nassella (now Stipa) pulchra, to serve as groundcover while waiting for shrubs to grow in, though be warned that native grasses can and will happily reseed and make pests of themselves in other parts of the garden...but, hey, they're native! I don't have any experience with Acacia groundcover (only the nasty, invasive trees and shrubs we have in the Bay Area - A. dealbata, decurrens, and melanoxylon), but prostrate forms of ceanothus do okay up here in Livermore....See Morehillside gardening - plants / terracing?
Comments (32)Update (2013 follow-up) of successful steep slope plantings on a dry sandy slope in So. Calif. In my previous post, I listed drought-tolerant Calif. natives used in my initial plantings. But the fire department does NOT like summer-deciduous plants such as sages. And as water was reduced, plants such as Wooly Blue Curls did not survive. It has been a 10-year project and this is how I turned a steep dry sandy slope into a drought-tolerant garden: 1) Basic Calif-native trees & shrubs were planted (a couple of Coast Live Oaks, lots of fire-resistant Toyons, McMinn Manzanitas, Sunset Manzanitas and the wonderful Hollyleaf Cherry are good choices). At the driest upper areas, Palo Verde Trees were planted for their deep tap roots and provide 25% shade cover when leafed out during the summer. 2) The slope is very steep. As I worked the sloped while planting and watering, a curvy informal foot trail started to form. As the trees and shrubs took hold of the soil, these foot trails were gradually deepened. Most native ground covers are sold as tiny little things that can't get a hold on steep slopes or are buried under a shovel of dirt unless planted at the base of an agave for protection. Tip: Buckwheat prostrate is a great steep-slope ground-cover that drapes down and hides the vertical cut edge of pathways. 3) The native flower shrubs (Wooly Blue Curls) died. Calif. Fushia is very dought resistant and is best if tucked under an agave to brighten up the driest desert plantings at the upper level. As the trees, shrubs and trails became established, lots of agaves were added to hold the surface soil. Cabbage-sized boulders were often used to hold new plants into the slope. 4) Erosion: A line of three monster Blue Agaves were planted in a horizontal line whenever a "dam" was needed to divert rainwater from running straight down the slope. The maturing slope contours (trails) were gradually deepened and dirt bermed up so that rainwater would travel across the slope and flow into collection basins behind trees and shrubs along the way. The pathway/contours took a lot of time to evolve but was well worth the effort. Instead of walking "on" the slope, the deepened pathways amongst the plantings now gives the feeling of a nature hike. 5) Gradually, non-native plants (aloes) were added to the semi-shaded areas. For the upper "desert" area, tons of barrel cactus and agaves were used as a ground cover alongside uprights such as pony-tail palms and colorful upright non-native Sticks on Fire & Crown of Thorns. This large (1/2 acre) hot dry, sandy steep slope was a real challenge and still is not finished. To make things look right on a large steep slope, you will need dozens of each plant to form groupings. You can use dozens of spikey Agave Geminiflora to give the illusion of a "meadow". Dozens of Golden Barrel cactus planted in an informal "swirl" along a switchback gives the impression of a flower garden from a distance. With a little imagination and a lot work, a steep slope can become a beautiful garden. Take courage, though, because it takes YEARS before others are able to "see" what you have planted. And on difficult slopes, it is better to overplant your basics of trees & shrubs because on a contoured steep slope, a sprinkler grid is too complex and you will lose some trees/shrubs when hand-watering is reduced....See Morehillside slipping away
Comments (8)We have a steeply sloped backyard too. It is south/southwest facing, gets a lot of hot sun during the summer. Most of it is planted in junipers except for an empty patch that is really an eye sore. We had more junipers planted in that spot because we just can't get down there to trim or weed unless we tied ourselves up to a post and propelled down. There is a zigzag pathway down our hill but the owner/builder really should have added an extra 'zag', because it's really steep. My dream would be to tear everything out, put in retaining walls, a seating area at each turn, a fountain or two too, and for my husband...a zip line all the way down! He's crazy. Because at the bottom of the hill a creek runs along our property and it's just breathtaking! In fact, before we even walked in the house we took one look at the back yard, as steeply sloped as it was, and we knew we couldn't pass this property up. Our slope looking up. Our slope looking down. We've cleared the area by the birch tree and along the creek in the first pic, but on the hill there is still planting to do. Not only that, but the old rail ties that were used are rotting. It may not look like it, but there is a lot of work to do yet. These pics were taken in spring before we moved in, so the hillside looks pretty good only because the weeds in the middle of the hillside are green!...See Morecat_ky
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