NEED HELP...SLOPE IS ERODING

last year

last modified: last year

THIS IS OUR PATIO AREA (UGH)...the retaining blocks are no longer available and I already moved some from the back of the patio (and have no more to move). So I cannot go a row higher on the little wall.

I do not want to use another style of block. I have oak trees around the problematic slope so I cannot add another short "wall" further up the slope.

Lots of shade and whatever I plant looks ragged if the deer do not eat it first. (Zone 6)

Need some ideas....have to fix this now! (erosion is affecting tree roots) Sorry the pics are poor...it is raining.

Comments (5)

Sigrid
last year
Allegheny pachysandr a is supposed to be pretty deer proof, but I notice you have a groundcover further under trees. I'd move some to your bare patch.
kathleen
Original Author
last year
Yes I have IVY under the trees and Sweet Woodruff below (because it washes down the slope)....Pachysandra might be nice. Thank you
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There's no reason to think that a groundcover suited to the conditions will not succeed. A shade tolerant, tough one should prosper handsomely. A single, solid groundcover will look better than one dotted with other groundcovers ... as that is the same look as having weeds! So I'd remove the mondo ... unless it is just starting out and looking like it could take off in a rambunctious way. Then it could be the groundcover. But I'm thinking it might not be doing that. I cannot say that the Geranium macrorrhizum will be tough and durable in the shade. Others might be able to advise. If you get the right groundcover, it will stop the erosion and create a net of sorts that is able to keep (and 'eat') fallen leaves, which will turn into compost and eventually soil, building it up over time. I would not haul in topsoil. Just get the right groundcover. Covering a large area with groundcover can get expensive, but a lot of them are easy to start, so you might want to look for a source and consider that route. What groundcovers are others in your neighborhood/city using for fairly large, shady areas? How's the front yard coming along?
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PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
last year
You need to to do one or more of these actions depending on the severity of your problem:

1. Raise the height of your retaining wall slightly

2. Install erosion netting & replant groundcover

3. Install small boulders to break up the water flow & replant

This is jute mesh erosion netting. It is held in place with long sod staples, which you push into the ground.
kathleen thanked Dig Doug's Designs
tozmo1
last year
I wouldn't worry about getting blocks that aren't completely the same as your existing. Even if you had them, they would look different due to age.

An idea would be to get a complimentary block and add it as an accent to raise the wall or even rework the existing wall with additional and different block worked into the overall wall to look intentional.

The last thing you want is those trees getting roots so loosened up that the tree comes down. Been the recipient of fallen trees washed out behind me from a school yard where drainage was not addressed. Not fun.

Until the school finally addressed their issue, I put in a river rock dry creek and contouring in my own yard to direct water away from my house. It looks pretty even though I don't really need it anymore.

All the best to you.
kathleen
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Thank you!....I just raised the wall but I inter-dispersed the new blocks....looks OK....actually hardly noticeable. I moved some large rocks from other areas to divert the water.....I have not had a lot of luck with the netting....even when I pin it down it rolls up (down?) on me.....I will plant ground cover though (it looks bare now).....Most of the lovely groundcovers hate the shade and the roots....even Sweet woodruff only does well at the bottom of the slope. But I though Lilly of the valley might do OK (it appears to be pretty hardy ...and that will not be too bad if I try more Hosta again. (if the Deer do not demolish it ....) The pretty Ajuga and Sedums are stomped on by the Deer and I am constantly re-planting them....

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NEED HELP...SLOPE IS ERODING

Comments (5)

Sigrid

kathleen
Original Author

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NEED HELP...SLOPE IS ERODING

Comments (5)

Sigrid

kathleenOriginal Author

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Dig Doug's Designs

tozmo1

kathleenOriginal Author

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CONNECT WITH US

kathleen
Original Author

kathleen
Original Author