d keith, The idea of planting on a hill is both to prevent erosion, which is really important, and to look really nice. Full sun, zone 7, great for erosion, crape myrtle, buy more of them. They are wonderful, they have strong roots, you already have one there, and will provide a little bit of shade, which most plants will appreciate since you have sun all day. They will be on sale now, so buy more crape myrtles, they are anchors. Buy a chase tree, gorgeous blue flowers, no maintaince, drought tolerant, loves sun. Get at least one chaste tree. When you plant it, add some composted cow manure in the whole since you have clay, for the chaste tree. Evergreen magnolia is wonderful for a hill! Look for them at big box stores or nurseries now. Their roots spread out, and they grow great on hills. They are easy to care for, love sun and are evergreen. Get at least one of those, you will love the fragrant flowers in spring. The reason for the trees is important, they are the first line of defense against the pouring rain. It first hits the trees, they provide cover. Then you look for shrubs, a medium cover, like roses, which are wonderful and hardy, and also love the heat and sun. So buy some medium sized roses. You can use a soaker hose to water them. Also ornamental grasses are beautiful, and sort of medium size. Grasses need water though, so if you put out a soaker hose, include them in the path. The junipers are a wonderful suggestion also. there are ground cover junipers, you can plant them here and there, they are evergreen, which is good, they are ground covers, so they will also help the ground stay where it is. St. Johns Wart, sedum, ajunga, daylilies, little spirea shrubs, just a few suggestions as to some plants that you can plant around on the hill and will take fast. Good Luck to you.

Hey that's me! I think if you click on my user name you can follow me. Though I am not that exciting. But at least if you do we can email each other and can discuss it. Or I can just put my phone number on here. But I do not know if that is aginst the rules?? Out of curiousity who is the developer and builder?

Congratulations on your new home! That azalea is gorgeous! www,davesgarden.com is a fantastic online resource. Close to home, http://ahsgardening.org/gardening-resources/master-gardeners, is another great resource. AHS itself is a great resource, As a Georgia born girl I can say that most people that love plants will go out of their way to help you identify and learn to care for your new "babies". As for big box stores, most Home Depots go out of their way to hire (at least seasonally) at least one plant guru, don't discount them. On the other hand, the knowledge and friendship you will find at a local greenhouse is hard to beat. If you have slope and drainage issues, just know re-grading can get pricey but you may have the option, or even need, to install French Drains. I won't say they are easy to do yourself but if you're willing to get dirty and very tired they are pretty simple. Good luck and have FUN!

I’ll find out upon move in what the soil is like underneath. I don’t see a weed in the entire yard so I have a feeling they may have really killed the soil. I like the idea of putting the raised beds by the patio. I figured I would use some somewhere in the yard but I needed that vision of how to pull things together and where to put them. I like that. Thank you!