Gene, they are beautiful aren't they? Be vigilant in your search in the foliage for bagworms which did in several of mine so they needed replacing. Some years they are really bad other years they're gone. You can pull off the tiny twig 'bags' and stomp on them but the silk that attaches it to the arborvitae is tightly wound around the twig. If it's on an important branching area you can try to scissor it off other wise expect some later twig death and clip those parts off. Spraying to kill the eggs laid by the moth is probably the best preventative to prevent the larval damage that occurs before you even see a suspended bag on a twig.

I would agree with John about the deep roots. That said, there are spreading shrubs that CAN handle dry, the ubiquitous spreading junipers among them, much though I feel they are over-planted. The one thing that spreading, low-growing shrubbery does do is dissipate the force of heavy rain as it hits the ground, esp if the plantings are started above the top edge, so the 'wash-out', as it were would be a bit less than if the rain-drops just hit a bare, dirt slope. What about spreading rosemary? It will mound up at about 18-24", but spreads well, rooting where it touches, especially if given some supplemental water. Again, I am not fond of it, since it seems to over-grow plants in my garden that I DO want more, but vinca (the spreading vine [minor NOT major, which is quite a 'thug'], not the summer bedding annual), will grow and take any amount of neglect. I have been trying to get rid of what I got with gifts of more desirable plants, and STILL have it 4 years later, since the roots are intertwined with the other plants' roots. If you planted the grasses first - or planted large ones - so they were well established, then any scrambling ground cover wouldn't overwhelm them. It goes without saying that watering WILL be needed for the first year, at a minimum, for whatever gets planted. And you will still have some weeding to do, of the trees which sprout from seeds, if nothing else.

thanks all for the great info. I've been out this afternoon weeding/clearing these slopes. each one is about 25x25 feet on both sides of the front steps. I have some ostrich fern and lily of the valley around my yard so i'm going to start moving some on to the hill. I've been trying to turn a blind eye to it but it seems like this garage thing is not the highest priority right now so I've got to do something. They did have pachysandra on ebay 25 plants for 7.99. Have any of you ever ordered plants off ebay?? I'm also going to start telling everyone I know I'll take any of their invasives off their hands. Believe me nothing could be more invasive than the creeping charlie, dandelions and crabgrass growing there now. pauline, I appreciate the offer alot! I may take you up on it when I figure out what to do. Actually some neighbors are coming out of the woodwork with all kinds of ideas. Is bishop's weed sometimes called snow on the mountain? i think that's what my mom calls it.

I'm looking for some input on what kind of wild grass to plant in the woodland behind our home. I want something that can serve as a ground-cover and food source for the local wildlife. I'd like to find a plant that will grow up to at least 24" in height and can easily be spread over the forest floor without a great deal of preparation work involved with the soil... if such a thing exists!! The amount of area I want to cover is only about 1 acre and the land is wooded but not heavily. The plant will need to be somewhat shade tolerant but will receive a fair amount of sunlight at various times of the day.