Is it just the bare dirt part you want to landscape?

Would raised beds (if you changed your mind) be for edible vegetables and herbs or just landscape plants?

@mindshift Thanks! I was looking at railroad ties since they aren’t too expensive. Great idea photos you shared as well. I think I prefer the grass but does it become a pain to maintain? I assume you would have to weed whack. Any down side to the pea gravel?

@Jeff Smith we would want some landscape plants. No herb or veggie garden.

Pea gravel retains water. It would be nice to have it so it forms a walkway on one side. You can get some low growing shrubs nearer to the house and add perennials for seasonal color. Ferns are a good plant to include. Azaleas, rhododendrons, Mountain Laurel, if they work in your zone will also look good.

Le Petit Chalet · More Info

Grass is nice, but best where foot traffic is infrequent. Should traffic be greater than grass can handle you could always insert stepping stones in the center of the path.

Obviously mowing would need to be done with a weed-eater, with care taken to not scalp the grass.

I would not use pea gravel, nor any rounded gravel. It moves when walked on, and gets into sandals and even other shoe types. Gravel should always be a crushed type that can be tamped tightly so it locks together.

a lightweight battery powered lawn mower is better than a weed-eater for stuff like that in my opinion, they are very affordable now days. even if you are good at using a weed eater, cutting swaths of area with it really tires out your arms and you can get sloppy pretty quick.

you could also do fake grass...they have some nice turf nowadays

You can go simple way as well

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Jewel Tones on a Steep Slope · More Info

@Celery. Visualization, Rendering images yes, I was actually thinking along those lines as well to keep it simple. I like that design as well... thank you!