I'll give it a shot. Since this is a steep slope, you might consider planting weeping love grass there. The Georgia DOT plants a lot of this along steep slopes on highway cuts, particularly in the mountains. I think it would grow OK in South GA. Low maintenance is a relative term. There is always some maintenance involved, if for no other reason because weeds and trees will always start to invade a planting area over time. However, you could annually burn off the weeping love grass and that should control weeds and trees. Check with your local extension service about love grass and how to plant and grow it. I am sure you have seen it before. You usually see it on steep slopes along highways. It has a very fine texture and long grass blades, giving it a weeping form. It's very attractive. (I grew up in GA, but now live in NC.)

Yes do contact your extension office and they will gladly send you information. Also drive around your area and see what you like. If you don't know the name take a picture and ask someone what it is. Natives are great but don't miss out on some great plants that are not native. Flax lily is a great one and I don't think anything bothers it not even the cold. Walter's Viburnum is a great small shrub and native too. I love my beauty berry but it has two problems...it froze to the ground this year (it came back and looks great) but it doesn't easily fit into conventional plans...IMHO. I have it planted in the back. Love pentas...generally a perinnial but can be killed by the cold. Oh, Coonties are another great native. They are a slow grower so they can be pricey but they hang tough in they yard year after year. I love crepe myrtles too...small tree. Although they can get rather large depending on the variety...are blooming this time of year. My zone 9 firebush and passion vine froze to the ground. The firebush came back the passion vine (non native var.) did not. I have replaced the passion vine with a native variety and have been warned that it suckers badly! But it won't die! OH! bla bla bla ... on and on I go! hehe. If you want low maintenance stay away from those things that freeze. I should know what freezes because all those things are in my freaking yard! What a disaster.

As you consider plants, do your research. Look for plants that are drought tolerant (less watering), and slow growing (less pruning). These characteristics can make a big difference. However, you need to realize that there are not any NO maintenance plants. Trees are very low maintenance in general. They need lots of space, obviously, but if chosen well, they give more bang for the buck than any other plant. Liriodendron (tulip poplar): great shade tree, very fast grower to maturity. Attractive year round. Drought tolerant. Minuses: the roots grow shallowly, so it can be somewhat difficult to grow other things under them, like ground covers, for example. Still, I think they're one of the best. Oaks: Some are very fast growers like Pin Oaks. Some are distressingly slow, like White Oaks. Crepe Myrtles: Disease resistant (except mildew and that is easily prevented by choosing the right varieties). I have never known them to be attacked by insects. When pruned well (PLEASE! prune well! :) they are one of the best for the south. They have an extremely long bloom time, and are VERY drought tolerant. Their winter form (when pruned well) is as beautiful, if not more beautiful than their summer form. minuses: BUT, they do require a fair amount of pruning to keep suckers cut off at the base, and to train them into a graceful shape, especially their first 2 to four years of life. Vitex agnus: beautiful, blue blooms, lovely foliage. They need a fair amount of pruning, though less so if you grow them as large shrubs instead of in tree form. Shrubs are, as louisianagal said, far lower maintenance than perennials, but again, they are not No maintenance. Raphiolepis indica (Indian Hawthorn): A great evergreen shrub. When given adequate space, (They easily get five to six feet wide. Give it to them) They are very close to no maintenance. They are neat and tidy all year long. Mine only need a light shearing once a year. Even less in dry years. The spring bloom is nice, but short lived. These plants make great bones in the garden. Encore azaleas: other than deadheading and a yearly feeding, these are very easy and reliable. They take more sun than the traditional azaleas, and their late summer to fall bloom is long and invaluable. I second the motion for Nandinas. They are one of the most under appreciated shrubs, in my opinion. They look wonderful in every season: beautiful lacy textured evergreen foliage, white spring blooms, drop dead gorgeous fall and winter color, and then there's the gorgeous clusters of red berries in winter. What more could you ask? On top of that they are drought tolerant, disease and pest resistant, and grow in full sun to full shade. Their one flaw? Most of them sucker. Some more than others, the old fashioned, large ones being the worst. I like Firepower too (no berries). I also love Harbour Dwarf because it makes berries. Compacta is a lovely larger form. Hydrangeas are fabulous for shade in the south. Endless Summer is particularly wonderful. I have Blushing Bride too, but it is being temperamental about blooming, so the jury is still out for me. I just purchased Twist and Shout. We'll see if it lives up to the ES name. I am also growing White Out for the first time this year. The snow white blooms are amazingly beautiful. I can tell you that it scorches if it gets more than a few hours of morning sun. Too soon to say for sure, but so far, it's a winner. Other than deadheading and watering, hydrangeas that are planted in the right location are virtually maintenance free. Korean Boxwood. This is a great plant that hardly anyone uses. I don't understand why. It is slower growing in the beginning, but that is a real advantage after the first three years or so, as it only needs shearing once a year. It will also grow in full sun to nearly full shade. Other really good ones: Hollies: there are so many good ones! Viburnums: look beyond snowball bushes. They are great shrubs. Arborvitaes (Thuja): the one called Emerald is excellent. Tall, skinny spires are in short supply here in the south. This is a great one. Camellias, both japonicas and sasanquas, Roses (all these are self cleaning, a very important attribute) Knockout Roses, Oh So Easy Paprika Rose, Nearly Wild Rose (very thorny), Cassie Rose, Carefree sunshine. All roses do best with a light pruning after each flush of blooms. Typically, I prune 3 times: in February, late May, and Mid July to early August. None of these are ever sprayed at my house. They all bloom from early spring to hard frost. Perennials require a fair amount of work, but some less than others. The trick is to find plants with good looking foliage, a good bloom time (anything more than a month is great), a moderate speed of spreading, and that are disease and pest resistant. REad in the forums. You can find all kinds of lists. Just be sure to pay best attention to the lists that are generated by people in your zone. Perennials, more than any other, vary wildly in their performance from one zone to another. Keep in mind that although the Pacific Northwest has the same winter hardiness zones as the Southeast, summer performance is dramatically different. Note: Daylilies are one of the most dependable, and longest blooming perennials for the south. They are also the ones that require the greatest amount of maintenance to grow them well. Three feedings a year, division every 3 or 4 years at least, daily deadheading and deadscaping during bloom season, and deadleafing after bloom time. I grow them. I love them. I limit how many, so I can care for them. I highly recommend that you get a copy of The Southern LIving Gardening Book and read it carefully. Don't buy anything that this book doesn't say will grow in your zone. It has detailed info on nearly any tree, shrub, perennial, annual, fruit or vegetable that you can think of. If it's not listed, don't even bother. It very probably won't grow anywhere in the south. And speaking of books....I'm done! (Can you tell that I love plant passionately? :)

Make the bed deeper (at least 6' deep) so that the plants aren't right up against the house and move the ones there farther out (or replace them entirely). Choose plants that are sized so that they won't need pruning. Plant so that at their expected size at 10 years they will still not be against the house - leave about 1' between the expected width and the wall so the building isn't damaged and the plants grow symmetrically. Put in a buried edging that keeps out the grass, mulch the bed well (3"-4" deep) after planting, and put in a groundcover such as Astilbe chinensis pumila, lady's mantle or pachysandra to reduce light to the mulch and therefore reduce weeds. Plan to spend 10 minutes a week weeding so that no weeds get big enough to seed around. Consider planting just a few types of plants, and not high maintenance ones like lavender or roses. Have some evergreen shrubs and/or groundcovers and some long-flowering shrubs - for me panicled hydrangeas such as Little Quickfire fit the bill, but I don't know enough about soils and temperatures in TN to have a feel for what would work for you. Shrubs with groundcovers will be far less work than a perennial garden.