See How 3 Landscape Designs Elegantly Tackle Backyard Slopes
These designers’ creative solutions may have you wishing for more topography in your yard
Annie Thornton
October 8, 2018
Houzz Editorial Staff
It can be hard to imagine a steep and irregular slope as desirable, usable garden space. In reality, and with the right treatment, sloped yards offer some of the best opportunities to take advantage of a view, add a water feature or create more outdoor living space.
The following three landscape designs sit on sloping properties. While the designers faced slightly different challenges with each project, they all implemented creative solutions that showcase how great a landscape with some lean can be.
The following three landscape designs sit on sloping properties. While the designers faced slightly different challenges with each project, they all implemented creative solutions that showcase how great a landscape with some lean can be.
1. Terraces and Retaining Walls Create More Outdoor Living Space
Designer: Beth Mullins of Growsgreen Landscape Design
Location: Castro District of San Francisco
Lot size: 3,750 square feet (348 square meters)
Homeowners Rob Lieberman and Brian Schneider hired landscape designer Beth Mullins to turn their overgrown, underused backyard into a more livable outdoor space. Mullins designed a series of terraced gathering areas connected by stairs, enabling the homeowners to now use almost every foot of their backyard.
Mullins divided the terraces by use, adding an outdoor kitchen and lounge closest to the house, a dining area one level up and planting beds and a kitchen garden at the top of the property. “Having more places to go to makes the garden feel bigger,” Mullins says. “Each level is a destination and creates the sense of possibility in that space.”
The designer also made use of the retaining walls and dividers between the terraces to better take advantage of the available space. “The design fits together like a puzzle,” she says. “Retaining walls turn into benches and fountains and steps.” In this photo we see how the retaining walls between terraces serve as a planter, the back of a bench and the top of a fountain.
See a “before” photo and read more about this renovation
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
Designer: Beth Mullins of Growsgreen Landscape Design
Location: Castro District of San Francisco
Lot size: 3,750 square feet (348 square meters)
Homeowners Rob Lieberman and Brian Schneider hired landscape designer Beth Mullins to turn their overgrown, underused backyard into a more livable outdoor space. Mullins designed a series of terraced gathering areas connected by stairs, enabling the homeowners to now use almost every foot of their backyard.
Mullins divided the terraces by use, adding an outdoor kitchen and lounge closest to the house, a dining area one level up and planting beds and a kitchen garden at the top of the property. “Having more places to go to makes the garden feel bigger,” Mullins says. “Each level is a destination and creates the sense of possibility in that space.”
The designer also made use of the retaining walls and dividers between the terraces to better take advantage of the available space. “The design fits together like a puzzle,” she says. “Retaining walls turn into benches and fountains and steps.” In this photo we see how the retaining walls between terraces serve as a planter, the back of a bench and the top of a fountain.
See a “before” photo and read more about this renovation
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
2. Lighting and Native Plants Transform a Backyard Eyesore
Designer: June Scott Design
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 1,700 square feet (158 square meters)
Homeowners Alyssa and Erik Reponen had tried, unsuccessfully, to plant the serpentine slope that runs along most of their backyard in Los Angeles before they hired landscape architect June Scott. Scott, who they tasked with beautifying the bank, also redid the retaining wall in front of it, designing a new built-in bench in the process.
Instead of terracing and reshaping the slope, as we saw in the first project, Scott turned it into a natural accent feature. She added native plants — including island false bindweed (Calystegia macrostegia), manzanita, dwarf coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) and heuchera — that thrive in the thin, rocky soil and extreme lighting conditions. A rebuilt retaining wall in front creates a small planting pocket and a surface for wall-mounted landscape lighting and a wraparound bench.
Designer: June Scott Design
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 1,700 square feet (158 square meters)
Homeowners Alyssa and Erik Reponen had tried, unsuccessfully, to plant the serpentine slope that runs along most of their backyard in Los Angeles before they hired landscape architect June Scott. Scott, who they tasked with beautifying the bank, also redid the retaining wall in front of it, designing a new built-in bench in the process.
Instead of terracing and reshaping the slope, as we saw in the first project, Scott turned it into a natural accent feature. She added native plants — including island false bindweed (Calystegia macrostegia), manzanita, dwarf coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) and heuchera — that thrive in the thin, rocky soil and extreme lighting conditions. A rebuilt retaining wall in front creates a small planting pocket and a surface for wall-mounted landscape lighting and a wraparound bench.
Subtle uplighting transforms the rock into an evening focal point. “The face of the rocks, which had formerly been one of the owner’s biggest complaints about the yard, became a huge accent for lighting. They are magical at night when uplit,” Scott says.
See a “before” photo and read more about this backyard transformation
Browse outdoor lighting on Houzz
See a “before” photo and read more about this backyard transformation
Browse outdoor lighting on Houzz
3. Planted Slope Extends the View
Designer: Katharine Webster
Location: St. Helena, California
Size: About 2,500 square feet (232 square meters)
For a couple’s weekend getaway in Napa, California, landscape architect Katharine Webster designed the landscape to be simple, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant and elegant. While the property has neighboring homes close by on two sides, its backyard overlooks surrounding vineyards and olive groves.
Webster planted hedges along the boundaries with neighbors and left the view of the vineyards and olive groves unobstructed. She planted the slope leading up to the view with boxwood, dusty miller, jasmine, sweet-pea shrub and wormwood.
The low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants continue the yard’s cooling color palette and make the yard appear to flow seamlessly into the landscape beyond. “We wanted to make the tight suburban property feel expansive,” Webster says. The fence along the back is a simple grid of metal that opens up to the views of the vineyard landscape in the distance.
Read more about this backyard in wine country
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Learn more about designing a landscape on a slope
Work with a landscape architect in your area
Designer: Katharine Webster
Location: St. Helena, California
Size: About 2,500 square feet (232 square meters)
For a couple’s weekend getaway in Napa, California, landscape architect Katharine Webster designed the landscape to be simple, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant and elegant. While the property has neighboring homes close by on two sides, its backyard overlooks surrounding vineyards and olive groves.
Webster planted hedges along the boundaries with neighbors and left the view of the vineyards and olive groves unobstructed. She planted the slope leading up to the view with boxwood, dusty miller, jasmine, sweet-pea shrub and wormwood.
The low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants continue the yard’s cooling color palette and make the yard appear to flow seamlessly into the landscape beyond. “We wanted to make the tight suburban property feel expansive,” Webster says. The fence along the back is a simple grid of metal that opens up to the views of the vineyard landscape in the distance.
Read more about this backyard in wine country
More
Learn more about designing a landscape on a slope
Work with a landscape architect in your area
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Here's our backyard at the bottom of a pinyon- and juniper-covered ridge in Santa Fe. We lost an argument with our builder regarding the height of the retaining wall (which wasn't in the builder's site plan) but five years later I'm okay with it. I terraced the slope with moss rock, added a river-rock "stream" and landscaped with native salvia, penstemon, agastache, manzanita, grasses and dwarf chamisa. Loving it!
“She planted the slope leading up to the view with boxwood, dusty miller, jasmine, sweet-pea shrub and wormwood. The low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants...”.
Hmm. “Dusty Miller” (senecio) grows leggy and woody very quickly, and needs to be pinched back often to keep it in check. Ditto “wormwood” (artemisia). Both of those plants will overgrow rapidly and collapse upon themelves, becoming a compact mat of vegetation with the first good rain. “Jasmine” could be one of several plants with various growing habits, so that is anyone’s guess. Boxwood grows slowly and has a naturally attractive shape, so that’s a good choice for adding permanent structure to a mixed planting of otherwise short-lived perennials. Sweet pea shrub (Polygala spp.) needs regular watering where I live (not far from this garden) if you want it to bloom and look attractive (it tolerates dry solid but looks pale and unhappy if not watered). And then there is the fact that I see lots of lavender in that photo, which is not mentioned, and that needs to be cut back, too, after bloom. In other words, this is a planting that is probably on drip irrigation (regular watering), needs judicious, regular pruning in the warm season to keep it in check, and most of which requires a severe cutting back before the rainy season. Not really “low-maintenance, drought tolerant, for the most part.
The San Francisco terraced garden is gorgeous. Such a smart division of space!
I had a 4’ fence and hillside completed engulfed in Ivy and blackberries, an excavator, 7 tons of debris later... we found a 6 block high retaining wall underneath, along with rotten wood decking, stumps and concrete roofing tiles. This is where we are today, although we still have some drainage issues to fix. We are pretty happy with the results.