The only thing "garden soil", "topsoil" or any other purchased "soil" will do is add a small amount of organic matter, if you are lucky and get some with that added, when what your soil most likely needs is more organic matter. Start by contacting your state universities Cooperative Extension Service about having a good, reliable soil test done so you know your soils pH and why it is where it is and also what the major nutrient levels are so you do not unnecessarily spend money on stuff you may not need. Then dig in with these simple soil tests, 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. which can help guide you in making that soil into the good and healthy soil needed to grow strong and healthy plants.

I garden on 3 country acres that have lots of sloped spots. We have worked with what was there and have not terraced. We have put in two sets of stairs on our steep slope (like yours but wider and shorter from top to bottom). One set of steps is brick and 3 ft. cement pavers: the other is a wooden staircase with a landing and change of direction. (Wet wood can be slick). I can't say enough good things about groundcovers and I am happy with some that smaller, flatter gardens do not need. 1.First I would push yellow Archangel--Lamiastrum galeobdolon- green and silver foliage with yellow May blooms. It looks wonderful with daffodills or other spring bulbs pushing up through it. Part to full shade. I got mine free at a Community plant exchange years ago. It took on a steep slope like yours that was covered with poison ivy, tree of heaven and nettles!! 2. Lamiastrum Herman's pride-- less aggressive.-same colors 3. Lamium--I have White Nancy, and Beacon Silver--part shade. There are other colors. 4. Vinca--It sort of just comes. When it comes with gift plant or appears in my perennial border, I always have a needy place to put it. Can be sheared. Shade 5. Lysimachia nummularia--Creeping Jenny. The golden form is sold for ground cover or container planting. The green form comes around here by itself where ground is moist. Both can be useful.Sun or shade. 6. Ajuga--any and all. Bronze/purple ones are good for color contrasting with burgundy foliaged stuff. 7. Waldensia--Barren Strawberry--mostly a weed but an interesting one for smaller space carpeting. Yellow flowers, red no-edible "strawberries" 8. Ferns 9. Violets--weeds in perennial border, welcome on hills. On West-facing slope with 4-6+ hours sun.(4th year) 1. clumps of ornamental grass across top of hill. Need shearing in spring. 3 clumps of grasses on slope. Tricky to shear in spring but very helpful in look, either from distance or from windows above. 2. Swaths of black-eyed susans (near base of slope) 3.Swaths of cluster bell flower (near base) 4. Common purple cone-flower--swath slanting up hill. 5. Meadow sage (half up) 6. Yarrow gold plate(Near grasses at top of hill 7. Ox-eye daisy--near base 8. Gooseneck lysimachia (this has not done very well because soil is too dry to encourage it much. In addition, without my interference, dry land forget me nots, columbine, vernonia, perennial yellow foxglove, and ladybells have "come". Some live in other parts of property. Some of these are not technically groundcovers but they increase by root and self-seeding, can be left with seeds to attract birds, can be weed-whipped. It's been some work to establish but each year gets easier.

Hi Sharon, Just wanted to add another welcome to New England. My mom lived in Peabody until last year, and I used to live in Peabody, but that was another lifetime ago. It's a nice town. Now I live a little further south and west of you. You will get snow. My mom always used to get snow whenever we did, just a little less, because of your proximity to the coast. I grew up here, but I did buy the Northeast Gardening book by Sunset. I guess it's an ok book, I don't know why I bought it. A compulsion to buy books, I guess. :-) There is nothing like actual experience, and I have gardened and lived here all my life, so I can't really say if the info in there will be useful to someone from Calif. But just wanted to let you know that there is a Sunset gardening book for the Northeast, and it's a big thick book. Besides all the other stuff people have mentioned, I would recommend that you get a good book about New England wildflowers, if that interests you. (I have one, but unfortunately I can't put my hands on it right this second, so I can't tell you the title, but I'll keep looking for it) There are a lot of wildflowers and spring ephemerals that show up briefly in the spring along with the early bulbs that help make spring a joy after all the cold and snow. You don't want to pull one thinking it's a weed. Some ARE weeds, but others like bloodroot and jack-in-the-pulpit, are great to have. If I were you I would wait to order bulbs and see what you may already have in the spring. All the foliage from daffs and tulips and crocuses has died back, so like others have said, you may not know what else you have. Oh BTW, the fall foliage is a real treat. Just wait a few weeks. You don't have to go anywhere special to see it. Just drive or walk anywhere and you will see some gorgeous fall colors. Keep coming here to GW too, it will keep you sane in the winter. Alison

I'm in the Tampa, Fl. area, we have very sandy soil here. If you are doing own root in sandy soil, then roses very closely related to the old china roses do best. They will be happy with Louis Philippe, Le Vesuve and also Cecile Brunner. As for other plants, it depends on how cold it gets there. I love Crape Myrtle trees and shrubs. Various Jasmines do well in sand also, as do Allamandas (usually yellow), Plumbago (blue), Bird of Paradise (orange) Variegated Shell Ginger (green with gold stripes), Variegated flax lily (green with white stripes), Lantanas (various colors). If frost free, Pentas and Plumerias are great. These are all easy to start from cuttings, even the roses.