A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2003 What to do with a slope??

The front of my yard is sloped. About 4 feet high, and the slope is quite steep (borderline vertical, lol). It's grass right now, but it's a pain to mow, and hard to keep the grass looking nice there. The former owners seem to have tried some sort of bed, as violas make an appearance every now and then.

Any ideas? Leave well enough alone?

Thanks

Lori, zone 5b

Lori,
How big is it? How steep is it? Are you into terracing it? Will you live there long. Lot's of questions come to mind............

Here's some sites on terracing!!
I have seen many shows on the gardening with this subject and terracing is one of the options... Depends on what and how much you want to put into it... I remember one show inparticular the slope was huge....All terraced off and he took cables and wires and anchors and large rocks and it was awesome but he worked on it for many years.
Always an "Uphill Battle" so to speak (pardon the pun) but he said it was well worth it.
The only problem was watering and he had to do some research on plants that were drought tolerent and for his area...

http://www.bhg.com.au/gardening.nsf/Content/Article_BHG_apr02_slopes?openDocument&print=yes

http://www.ruralgardens.ca/mempgs/3/virginia.htm

http://www.backyardgardener.com/spider/hillside.html

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard/Terrac.html

http://www.bestgardening.com/bgc/design/designbasicssteps01.htm

Here's a few with different ideas??? Lot's of good reading....I wish I could have found that one picture of the terrace.
Happy Gardening
Weezie

Another idea may be to rototill it once and then throw on native wildflowers....
Make a "pairie meadow" and just look at the flowers. Pretty much a little to get it started and then as I think I understand it you can mow (or burn every three years or so, this does it good I guess...)
Check out what would do in your area, poppies, goldenrod, asters, luping, birds'foote treefoil, etc.???

http://www.prairienet.org/gpf/prairiegardens.html

http://www.agrecol.com/Cultural_Guides/Prairie_Gardening/prairie_gardening.html

http://splcat.publib.saskatoon.sk.c...&query=ln+AAT-3354&index=default

http://www.publib.saskatoon.sk.ca/garden2.html
(Try this one and look for Canadian pairie gardening if the one above doesn't work.)

Lot's of good sources in the last one..

Hope this helps!!!!
Weezie