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Steeply Beautiful Slope Retention
Don't let things slide or give in to sandbags and cement. These slope retention ideas will keep your landscape hitting the high notes
Cassy Aoyagi is passionate about California native foliage and sustainably crafting a distinctive California aesthetic. She is president of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants and of FormLA Landscaping. Her work has been featured on the Eco Echo Park Home and Garden Tour, at the Pasadena Showcase House of Design, on the Theodore Payne Foundation Native Garden Tour, and a multitude of other Los Angeles garden tours. The Los Angeles Times and InStyle Magazine, among others, have featured gardens designed by Cassy.
Cassy Aoyagi is passionate about California native foliage and sustainably... More »
Slope retention is critical for many homes. Retaining a slope may mean protecting the very structure of your home or preventing mud from overwhelming your landscape. While the term "slope retention" naturally evokes images of sandbags and huge cement walls, there are some strikingly lovely ways to encourage hillsides to stay put.
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Terracing small walls is a great strategy for shoring up slopes. It uses the drama of a steep slope, adding dimension and layering to an otherwise uninviting hillside. Staircases not only create stability and accessibility, they make the area more visually inviting.
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by Leslie Rohrer
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| While the walls featured above are fairly formal and contemporary, here the look is more rustic. I like this wall, which appears to be dry stacked. This look can often be achieved with recycled or reclaimed materials. |
| This property's depth keeps its steep retaining wall from overwhelming the view. The natural rock provides an interesting contrast to the modern architectural lines. Climate matters. In California and other dry-climate areas, a lake like this would not be sustainable unless it was a collection pond holding and filtering water for irrigation. |
| Of course, some slopes simply need very strong, very steep support. Variation in depth and the addition of items that create visual interest soften what might otherwise feel like a tall, imposing or hard vertical surface. |
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Foliage is also an incredibly beautiful and effective method for retaining slopes.
It's important to understand the root structures and water needs of the plants used. If a plant requires lots of water to thrive in your climate, the application of the water might undermine your goal of slope retention.
It's important to understand the root structures and water needs of the plants used. If a plant requires lots of water to thrive in your climate, the application of the water might undermine your goal of slope retention.
| For gentle slopes like this, I adore native grass meadows. |
| In steeper areas, more substantial focus can encourage those walking the space to take a particular path. The more substantial root structures of vertical foliage may also be useful in retaining the slope. |
| Smart, sustainable plant spacing is key. While large plants may look instantly lovely, they don't provide the slope-stabilizing benefits of foliage whose root system grows naturally in a space. It may be necessary to use coco fiber to prevent surface erosion while plant life establishes. In a year, the area above this ledger stone retaining wall will look like a vertical wall of foliage, and the railroad-tie-supported hiking trail will be substantially softened by ample foliage. |
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by Gast Architects
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| If done strategically, your effectively retained slope may just be your favorite view! If you love your retaining wall, please show it off — I'd love to see it! Add photos to the Comments section below. More: Inspired Designs for Sloped Lots Garden Musts for March 7 Out--of-the-Box Retaining Wall Ideas Design Eye on the Oscars: The Kids Are All Right's Fabulous Terraced Garden |
Comments
Judy's Gardens & Design Cassy, this is a very interesting article with good examples on a very real designer's challenge... as a landscape designer, I definately know this first hand. Thanks for bringing attention to the subject!
14 months ago · Like
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Nat wow to picture number 3
14 months ago · Like
Cassy Aoyagi, FormLA Landscaping Thanks Judy and Natasha! appreciate that you enjoyed!
14 months ago · Like
Centergold I'm moving into a home that has deer,turkey raccoons, squarels can u suggest land scape and plants and some way to keep these animals from destroying plants ?it also has a drop off into the wood s with some clearing? What to do with this situation. I love plants and flowers! joyious,thank you In advance.
14 months ago · Like
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Cassy Aoyagi, FormLA Landscaping Hi Centergold, You ask a fully loaded question that has many answers, but here are some simple rules of thumb. Raccoons: keep the landscape dry, moisture attracts the wonderful underground grubs and worms that raccoons love to dig up and eat, sod is a particularly attractive material for raccoons to dig up and eat what's beneath. So utilizing lots of indigenous low water plant material will be key. Deer: The Western Sunset Garden Book has an entire section on deer resistant plants, however I don't know where you are located so if you are utilzing indigenous plants to your area, it may not apply to you, however, another rule of thumb is that deer don't care for the most pungent, fragrant plants, but they love thorny stuff, so don't be fooled. Ground squirrels: these are more problematic than tree squirrels so I'm not sure what you have, but if they are ground squirrels you may try planting smaller plants in gopher baskets, which may protect them from more than just ground squirrels. A pet dog, usually deters all of these! Good luck!
14 months ago · Like
Gardens by Gabriel The walls you featured are so diverse and beautiful. Here are a couple of ours, one's a newbie and one's grown in a bit. 
14 months ago · Like
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Cassy Aoyagi, FormLA Landscaping nice job Gabriel, thank you for sharing!
14 months ago · Like
Centergold Beautiful
14 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on March 12, 2012.
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