You did a great job!! I'm amazed that you found the time and energy to do any of this with a little one and one on the way! I have twin 9 month olds and I've been lucky to find time to prune my one butterfly bush.
As for suggestions, I will tell you that I am right now on the beginning of what I think is going to be a big Knockout Rose kick. I'm trialing a few of them in my own garden (Z6 NY so it's different than yours). They are allegedly the easiest-care roses out there, and would make gorgeous splashes of color on your hillside! Though they do have thorns, they don't seem to be super-thorny either, like "normal" roses.
I'm also getting big into ornamental grasses for ease of care and in some cases hits of color. We have some large swaths similar to yours and I'm planning to use Purple Love Grass in them to take up a lot of room, and give four-season interest plus a huge color burst.

Question about your raised beds: do they get full sun? If so, then herbs would do really well in there; if the overhang of the house shades them though you might need to rethink that plan. Blueberrys are almost always bushes, by the way, if I'm not mistaken. Do you know the name of the ones you have?

nycynthias,

I had lots of help from paid workers, and this took 2 years to complete total. We had it sod'd last july (odd time of year but we had the cash) and I have 1 company i stick with who does excellent work. They dug the trent along the hillside and beds for example and this year helped me prune the big butterfly bushes I could not do myself (just too much labor for a pregnant women!). We plan to do more of this ourself each year, and I hand pull weeds from the grass (easier then I thought and keeps me busy while DD plays in the yard.

The back of the house gets some shade along those beds, but then it does get 6 hours of sunlight because the sun is coming from an angle, it's JUST 6 hours but I think it's enough, its so hot back there and so bright! I planted the rosemary so we'll find out how well it does.

The name of the blueberry's is on the tag (I left it tied on) I'll have to go look when I get home. I got them from Home Depot.

Purple Love Grass sounds pretty, I like things that look like wildflowers with little tiny tiny flowers, loads of them. I also want to make it so something different blooms each season (spring vs summer etc).

Looks great and what an improvement!

I did want to mention that here in termite territory you have to be careful of planting right up against the foundation. If you have the tradition termite treatment (chemical drench), doing so can disturb the chemical barrier and allow termites to infest. Just having brick doesn't mean you don't have a tasty wood structure in there. If you have the "bait" method of termite control, you might be ok. But it's something to be aware of.

We got burned as new homeowners and found termites just 3 years after moving in (thanks to replacing a door with a window - otherwise it could've been much later that we found them).

Six hours of sun is consider "full sun" and if it's in the morning, that is the best kind. If it's in the afternoon, it's very harsh. Time of day makes a difference.

Consider some more native shrubs along that hill to fit in with the woodsy look and to help out the environment. Butterfly bushes, pretty as they are, do very little for the native ecology of Georgia (bugs-birds-etc). Some very nice flowering shrubs and small trees include: native azaleas, fringetree, serviceberry, sweetshrub and viburnums.

Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia Native Plant Society

esh_ga,

I had those beds built 6" from the house base, so the plants are nearly a foot away from the wall. The sun that hits IS the afternoon sun :(

We also found termites 3 yeaes after moving in, how ironic. They drilled holes all the way around the house, we found a dead swarm in our garage by the heater and they didn't find damage inside the house but we did the holes dug thing anyway. We currently recieve treatment for termites on an ongoing basis, they check each year, not sure if they spray something. Terminex.

I did the butterfly bushes because they have grown so well in our yard and are very low maintance, but I would be interested in planting more native plants for sure! Someting I don't think about often.

mediadiva,

What a great job so far. You have the same situation as I do. However I have a smaller space. My backyard slopes uphill and looking back is straight north. Allowing for lots of sunlight. Have you thought about Southern Magnolias, a retaining wall to level more of the hill? You also have what I would think is a perfect lot for a waterfall and pond. Indian Hawthorns will grow in any soil also.

I do like the ranch style fencing. Are those 4X4 posts with 1X6 rails, and a facer board? They do add some interesting lines to the landscape and allow for a view outside of the yard. In contrast a solid fence design can bounce the eye back inside the landscape design and help to tie it together.

With the slope your view will be of the underside of the plants, so some plants like magnolia with colorful underside are a plus. Likewise hellebore will be more visble and enjoyable.

For your yard, a hillside is like any other design. It will need focal points, framing elements, more structure, and more multi-seasonal interest.