Hey I am apparantly from the same area as you---getting older too---steep roadside bank too---clay rocks and fullsun. I planted creeping phlox, daffodils, grape hyacinths, and daylillies. Purple coneflowers reseeded onto the bank and I have also started transplanting Iris. They all do great. What I did was spray a total vegetation killer in a blocked out area at a time (an area I knew I would be able to get planted that season) It has taken me 3 seasons, but I am on my last small area. The last 20 feet!!! I had a 220' stretch of bank to do. The plants all do well on their own, the creeping phlox keeps the weeds down, while allowing the iris, daylilies and coneflowers to come up through. Please don't put that awful crownvetch in---it is one of the worst things to kill off, as bad as creeping charlie. Ann

I have a steep sloping site on the Central Coast and have selectively planted a lot of different natives. In the smaller gaps between the rocks I have planted a mix of native grasses, mainly different Lomandras and Dianellas. As for the grasses, at the base of the slope where it is likely to be damper I have planted L. hystrix, L. 'Tanika' and a few others. As it gets dryer further up the slope, I have planted L.'Tanika'and L. longifolia. I have also dispersed the following shrubs as well; Syzygiums such as S. luehmanii, S. australe "Pink Cascade' and others. These have been planted in areas where there is some residual moisture. You are likely to find residual moisture at the base of the rocks. Further up where it dries out more and there is a bit of sun, I have planted Banksias among the Lilly-pillies, such as B. spinulosa, (which happens to be my favourite) B. ericafolia and a few of the cultivars. Myoporum parvifolium is fine in areas that get limited sun although total shade may be a problem. I find when you plant in areas that provide opportunities for the above varieties of natives you end up with a very attractive natural look.

If you get a hold of a copy of The Sierra Nevada Plant Guide ( I found one at Truckee Tree Nursery years ago ) it will provide you with a great amount of info. I use it as a primer when designing up on the Lake. Also, if you are in the Squaw Valley Olympic Village neighborhood take a drive around and look at many of the homes there. Lots of great ideas in the front yards. - try a nice balance of some small colorful deciduous trees/ shrubs like Cotinus (smoke bush) and Viburmun . Combine them with evergreen low growing groundcover like plants such as arctostaphylos , contoneaster and junipers. Pop up the summer color with phlox, achillea, sages, coreopsis, daylilies, columbines, poppies and penstemon.

That's very good. Since you're drawing to scale, you don't need to put the dimensions on anything existing. At the base plan stage, try to keep the drawing as clean and clutter-free as possible ... so no tree canopies or any extra marks. If you show the tree trunks, that's enough of a reminder of where and what they are. Labels would get in the way, so those can be added once a copy of the plan evolves into a planting plan (or whatever kind of plan you make of it. It could have multiple purposes.) The first thing you'll want to use the plan for is to lay out a walk. The house steps terminate seemingly much farther out than they appeared in the picture. You'll want to create the walk according to reality ... no what things might have appeared to be like in a picture (as was the information that I went by.) It might look something like this. But you can alter any way you wish. After you decide on a walk layout, you'd want to figure out any beds. It's possible that the edge of the walk might form a bed line, but not necessarily. It's up to you. If you follow my concept, there are beds below at least two trees. (Another reason not to show tree canopies. Both beds and tree canopies showing around a tree would be confusing as to which is which.) Having the plan and the concept together will help you plot out the location of the larger plants, and then you can work down to the groups of smaller plants. If you're planning on some type of gravel walk, I'd make it 5' wide. I would also create a landing at the base of the steps, equal to their width, and made of some type of hard paving. If the entire walk is hard paving, such as concrete, you could make it as narrow as 4', but not narrower. A landing should still be equal to the step width and you would flare the walk where it meets the drive. (How the drive meets the parking seems a bit awkward and unrealistic, so I'd verify its layout on the base plan. The scale marked on the plan is what I drew it at. If you want a copy of that file, you can send me a PM with your email address. (Drawn using Microsoft Paint.)