Good to know the slope shouldn’t be an issue. We enjoy landscaping with plants and trees so that’s something we would be interested in doing. We do own the slope so the property line is at the top of the hill. Fencing would likely be a buck cross style.

It’s hard to argue with Christopher’s advice to cover it with plants. What plants depends on a range of site variables and ultimately what you want it to look like.

"What plants depends on a range of site variables and ultimately what you want it to look like."

And how much hand weeding you are willing to do as your plants/groundcover fills in.

It's really uncomfortable to hand weed on a slope for any length of time.

I find weeding a slope easier than flat ground as long as you are facing up the slope; less bending, and easier to reach the ground because it is closer.

And the cool thing about slopes is you get more land than the 2D flat survey lines indicate.

Imagine a wildflower slope…

Quote: "Looks like a challenging area to fence"

I believe you already have a 15" high "fence" behind you house. I agree that a fence on the sides of your lot would be a challenge to make it look right where it joined the hill.

If the lot were mine I would plant a large flowering tree near the lot lines such that it would screen the back yard from the neighbors house. The flowering tree could be something large like a Rose of Sharon, lilac, Crepe Myrtle, etc I would then define the edges of your back yard with other flowering bushes like spirea, etc I would keep the open area, by keeping the plantings in island groups rather than rows or hedges.

did i miss..after reading twice.. where you are.. big city name...

i frankly dont know how you answer the erosion question without knowing location .. frankly.. i dont know how the first answer simply dismisses the issue completely .. of course you have to deal with it .. on a multitude of levels ...

nor can you talk about what plants will grow there ... or live thru winter ... without knowing where you are ...

this is how i might look for inspiration ... find something you like.. and then we could discuss how to go about it

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=gardens+on+a+hill&t=ffsb&iax=images&ia=images

ken

Hi Ken- my apologies for leaving out that detail. It’s in Georgia outside of Atlanta.

Knowing you are in Georgia means there are a lot of plants you could plant. The slope would make a great butterfly garden with bird feeders and water features, ie bird baths, etc. near the bottom of the slope.

Maybe some of the Formosa azaleas near the top of the slope and down the sides of the lot. This would define your back yard. Some of the ever blooming Azaleas scattered over the slope. Butter fly bushes, and Miss Huff Lantana. interspersed with other perennial flowers. You may plant some Magnolias along the lot line. We like the grandaflora, which go from seed to a nice size tree in about 8 years. While they have a negative image Cleveland pear give a lot of spring color to your yard.

We live east of Raleigh and have several butterfly gardens with the above plants and others. We have birds, butterflies, and many other types of wild life. To know what is coming to your bird bath and feeders, you may position a trail camera to capture pictures of your visitors.

my apologies

==>> no need to apologize to me ...

what is all the dead stuff there ,.... or did it just go summer dormant ...

thinking outside the box... you could make a self play bocci court.. lol ... roll the ball up.. and it comes down ... i have a few hills in my yard.. i called it 3D bocci ... must more fun than the flat earth version ... something akin to bocci putting.. lol,.. but i digress ...

i would seed in grass in fall ... and make it mowable.. asap ... or whatever might actually be there ...

and then over the next decade.. if you are a hardcore gardener.. just start transforming it with shrubs.. conifer ... and gardens ... one section at a time ... to your work tolerance ...

you really arent going to do this in one season .. unless you have no real budget constraints to have it professionally installed.. and all the power to you.. if you do ...

are hurricane type rains [as compared to the storm itself] possible in your area of GA?? ... if so...stabilization is imperative ... as your new house is at the bottom of the hill... and that little gully in the lawn isnt going to do much for a land slide .... dont get all wound up about such.. but make sure its part of your future plans ...

i wish you luck ... this MI boy isnt gong to offer any specific plant suggestions for GA ... and i wonder about some of the specific suggestions above .... take any given suggestions to a local nursery ....not bigbox.. and ask if they sell such.. if they dont.. its a good clue it might not work for you ...

good luck

ken

Ken don't fret so much over erosion. That slope has a fine angle of repose and will be colonized and covered in the blink of a season. The developers of that subdivision sure don't want to be losing any money over a bad slope.

if they follow your sound advice all will be well. The self play bocci court idea is a keeper.

I always thought this hill landscaping was very pretty. It was from a garden featured in the daily Fine Gardening picture of the day. I think I have the link on the article and will include it when I find it.

Here are a few photos to see what they did

a couple different angles

Here is a link to a different seasonal view

https://www.finegardening.com/article/seasonal-views-of-a-special-garden-in-ma

56steps said with picture what I was trying to say with words. One word of caution, this is not an overnight project and will take years to get it to look like the pictures.

In the mean time you can enjoy planting and watching it grow into what you see in the picture. We have lived in this house for 10 years and for the first couple of years it appeared we were accomplishing nothing. In the last years we have watched what we envisioned come into relativity. Also if you have deer or similar creatures in the area, don't go for many small cheap plants, the deer will keep them trimmed so the barely appear to grow. Go for plants as large as you can afford, as they will be able to provide food for the deer and grow in size..

@56steps I have been following this thread. Thank you for that link !!! It's just what I want to do on our 80 ft long slope in our backyard in VA. Many of those plants are already in my yard and I can divide and move them to the area in the Spring. c

Too bad you don't get snow in GA - that hill would be perfect for sledding. Our old backyard (prior house) in MA was like this too, maybe a bit steeper - it was steep enough that our kids could still go sledding on the grass without snow (with a bit of a push).

I got this book https://www.amazon.com/Hillside-Landscaping-Complete-Successful-Gardens/dp/0376037784/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=hillside+gardening&qid=1627239014&s=books&sr=1-3

But we moved before we can get to planting shrubs/perennials on the hill (we planted trees at the top of the hill) - we just had grass and no problem with erosion. Mowing is perpendicular to the slope as it was a bit too steep in certain spots.