Is that a man made berm or was it always there? I would remove it or make it much smaller. If it's smaller with less slope then mulch would be more likely to stay put. IMHO it looks oversized and hides your home.

I agree that it is oversized, but it was done like this when the house was built because the driveway is flat and sits right above the hill. My entire yard slopes down to the road, but was leveled out where the house is built. Since the driveway is above the hill, getting rid of it really isn't an option. I will have to work with what I have here.

Do not use the rocks. Bad idea.

And get rid of the landscape fabric. In 10 years,you'll be tearing your hair out about it. If the area is sunny, look at Gro-low sumac (Rhus aromatica) to spread and hold the slope. A handsome groundcover for a situation like yours.

" This fragrant sumac cultivar is a dense, low-growing, rambling shrub which spreads by root suckers and typically grows only to 1-2' tall but spreads to 8' wide. Trifoliate, medium green leaves turn attractive shades of orange and red in autumn. Leaves and twigs are aromatic when bruised (hence the species name). Leaves are smaller but resemble in appearance those of the related poison ivy (Rhus radicans), however this fragrant sumac is a totally non-poisonous plant. Tiny yellow flowers bloom at the twig tips in early spring before the foliage. Separate male flowers (in catkins) and female flowers (in clusters) appear on the same plant (monoecious) or, more commonly, on different plants (dioecious). Male catkins form in late summer and persist throughout the winter until eventually blooming in spring. Female flowers give way in late summer to small clusters of hairy, red berries which may persist into winter. Fruit is attractive to wildlife." from Missouri Botanical Gardens

I agree- the landscape fabric should go. You need to have a DENSE planting scheme to hold the soil in place. There are so many potential varieties for your area- both native and non-native. What would be great to see are a few waves of ornamental grasses on the hillside- any variety of Panicum (switch grass) like Northwind, Cheyenne Sky, or Rostrahlbusch would be fantastic.

Also some evergreens that will spread out would be great. Daub's Frosted Juniper or Golden Joy Juniper for bright color, but would also be great to see some dwarf upright pyramidals (I was thinking bright blue dwarf spruce cultivars like Sester's Dwarf or Zafiro).

If you're looking for something different a few patches of Sorbaria 'Sem' will give a great effect for the first few months of the year. Keep in mind it will spread so in a few years you may have to keep it in bounds.

Other good shrub options would be Panicle Hydrangea cultivars or Smooth Hydrangea Cultivars. They take a few seasons to become well-established on a hillside but thereafter do very well.

For perennials other than daylilies and iris you could look towards native Amsonia varieties. The native varieties hubrichtii or tabernaemontanta var. salicifolira would give good flowers, foliage, and fall color. The shorter variety 'Blue Ice' will spread and hold the soil in place very well- it has very nice blue flowers and golden fall color. The native Aster 'October Skies' is also a spreading variety which has blue flowers but much later in the season (August-September).

Other perennials would be native Baptisia (false indigo) or Agastache 'Blue Fortune' which would give you great flowers over a long period. Add some Rudbeckia 'Viettes Little Suzie' in front of that for a nice effect.

Really you have a ton of options. Put the hillside on paper and see what you can come up with.

I think you could put beauty on that berm. Like a group of accent trees offset to the left so they don't block the house with small shrubs and plants cascading around. I love rocks! But I live on a rocky hillside in Southern California. I can't suggest plants, but many plants love to get their roots under boulders and grow forever.

Agree that the landscape fabric should go. I just pulled some out of my back yard beds about a month ago. The dwarf palms had grown, and it was impossible to pull the fabric out.

My company makes a nonwoven mulch mat that slowly biodegrades over time. Because it's in a blanket form, it won't wash down the hill, and would provide a great contrast to any plantings you put in. Because it is a mulch, though, it is not conducive to anything that spreads. A flowering ground cover, like the PP stated, is a great option. Then use mulch mats around the border to keep things from spreading.

Here is the website: www.woven-earth.com

Statice? That is a beautiful straw flower plant that self seeds. My friend's hillside is covered with them and is a maze of blue all summer. We plan to start some on our hills too.