How to Landscape a Sunny Steep Embankment

Landscaping certain areas, like a steep hillside, narrow parkway, or amidst roots of a tree, presents a unique challenge to the gardener. Look to local nature for answers, rather than trying to force flora to grow artificially. Sunny embankments with extreme descents are best tackled with resilient, drought or frost tolerant plants that prevent erosion.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Mulch
• Drip Irrigation System
• Trowel
• Seeds and/or seedlings
• Cinderblocks (optional)

1. Evaluate your local climate in very general terms: do you live in a desert area of the country, like the Southwest, that experiences drought, wind, and low humidity? Or are you more likely to experience torrential downpours and flooding? Translate your climate into a "problem" that landscaping your steep embankment will solve. Some plants with deep roots and specialized leaves are good at finding moisture in dry soil and reducing evaporation. Others use their root systems to keep soil adhered to the ground so it won't slide further down the hill.
2. The best way to get landscaping ideas is to look around. On your way into work, is there a highway embankment that looks well-maintained, colorful, or particularly attractive? What about the back of a neighbor's yard that shares your hillside? Snap a few photos or, even better, pinch off a sprig of a plant that catches your interest, and bring them to your local nursery. Someone will be able to help you identify plants that tolerate full sun. For visual interest, select a few plants that have different heights and leaf styles. Choose "native" species (ones that originated from your area) over cultivated, imported, or non-native (invasive) species.
3. Prepare your embankment. If you want a low-maintenance garden that conserves water, choose plants that don't need any more water than what naturally falls from the sky. Otherwise, a drip irrigation system will be far superior to sprinklers. Sprinklers work on a lawn because the ground is flat. On a hill, water will just slide over the soil and gradually wash the embankment down into your yard. If you already have a sprinkler system, you can convert it to drip irrigation easily with soaker hoses and a timer.
4. Plant your garden. This might be as simple as sprinkling an all-purpose collection of wildflower seeds and raking them into the soil. If you purchased potted plants, dig a hole about twice as deep and twice as wide as the pot. Sink the plant into the ground and build a small, level platform around it using more dirt and rocks.
5. Mulch the embankment. Spread mulching material, such as bark, leaves, chipped wood, or small pebbles between all the plants. Mulch helps insulate the ground's temperature, reduce erosion, and hold in moisture.

Tips & Warnings

• Combine annuals (plants that die off each season) with perennials (plants that bloom yearly and won't die) so your sunny embankment is green year round.
• Consider terracing a steep hillside to create levels of flat ground using cinderblocks
• Never put mulch directly against a plant, especially a woody shrub. It will rot the wood and impede free growth.