As one who lives on a hillside,I would suggest more terracing. It looks like you have some very shallow paths cut into the hill, but I think you need more depth to the paths so they are actually more like a terrace. Tastes vary I agree, but I think the artifacts hanging on the fence look tacky. It takes time, I know for any planting to fill in, but it does not look like you have a plan. You asked for ideas, mine are from a great grandfathers perspective, and you obviously have young children who must be accommodated. Al

I'm tired just from thinking about your 4-year job of salvaging wood and constructing such a large fence.

Have to agree with Al about wider terraces ... planning for the day when you are no longer a young mountain goat.
My terraces are built from rock gathered from construction sites ... back in my more agile youth. They have a natural look that I like better than block... plus were free. Now in my 70s, I really appreciate those wide paths and easy to access planting beds.

Another benefit from terraces is that you can increase your growing space AND picking fruit from trees is way easier in a flat space than on a slope.

Has a solid fence affected water drainage from property above?

It looks just beautiful. I really admire you for recycling all of that lumber and making it useful and attractive again. Your yard already looks like a ton of fun- I especially love the bottles on sticks at the back fence, in the different heights you have arranged them. The watering can collection is cool too, but I think the bottles on sticks are great architecturally and add, rather than distract, from the fence and garden.

My suggestion is to paint everything that is white cobalt blue, to go with the bottles. That would tie it all together and complement the plantings.

I also agree about the terracing. Slopes are difficult, especially steep ones like yours. It's a huge amount of labor, but arthritis and other horrors of age creep up on you so much faster than you think they will, and you will not be able to get to your yard at all. The terracing can be done a little at a time. The key is to take out much more soil than you want to and to create level steps, rather than steps that tilt. We have to climb on our hands and knees up parts of my father-in-law's slope, which is similar to yours.

I would love to see some purples and blues, maybe ceanothus, on that slope. Tall bearded irises might take the drainage well too, but it would be tough to get in and clean them up. Good job, and let us know how it progresses.
Renee

I hope you put posts in the ground closer than 8 ft. All those hangings will pull the fence down.

I like the bold orange color, too many boring fences. I think since you have few flowers at the moment It would look nice to paint some on the fence - say life size sunflower stalks...
I was confused by the bottles on sticks(thanks hosenem), thought they were some sort of paddles from the picture - anyway the look is way too busy for my eye, now if the sticks were painted to match the bottles - cobalt blue then I think to me it would be much more pleasing.

My favorite new garden feature is a small recirculating stream, a hillside is perfect for this. To match your garden I think a natural look is out, but something along the lines of a series of cascading contemporary fountains with a rill would work.

Thank you for all the comments. My design style probably is 'tacky', lol. You also knew that there is no plan, just keep running around in circles till it looks done. Wider terraces would be wonderful, and we'll probably cut them a little wider, but the hill is very steep and code nannies would be sure to collect a huge fine if we cut deeper than they allow, and a good chunk of the slope is visible from the street.

I'm not exactly a young mountain goat. Being 60, I'm more like an old goat. There are no small children here.

Since we attached the fence boards to the chain link fence, none of them are touching dirt, so drainage hasn't changed.

A large part of the slope is still covered with cape honeysuckle and plumbago, although we cut it short now to slow down the invasion. Most of it will be eradicated (if that's possible) as we go along and plant other things. It will be wonderful to have bright flowers and probably a lot of succulents up there. The slope gets no water from us except temporary water for new plants.

Most of the bottles are sitting on pieces of wrought iron fencing. We cut it straight across at different lengths and use both ends. I like the cobalt blue paint idea for the white wrought iron. The black sticks look much better than the white, so the blue should work well.

The slope if approx. 60' wide and 27' tall.

Linda

I agree with all the comments about terracing. You definitely want to create several wide terraces so you have more usable flat space and can walk around on your slope more easily. It will also drastically help your drainage as help to keep water on the slope so plants will have a much better chance of establishing itself. Ya gots a lotta stuff goin' on up there, lol! You might want to thin out some of the collectibles so there are maybe a smaller number of really neat things for folks to enjoy, instead of getting lost in the massive amount of "stuff". It would be neat to have a walk-through garden, that folks can sort of wander along the terraces, and see neat things sort of nestled in your landscaping. I know we've each got our own style, and for me, it's just a wee bit busy to my eye, but cool collections, still. Especially the watering cans.

Patty S.

Linda I went to your "making of your back yard" blog and now understand what you meant by finally getting the fence completed. Adapting salvaged wood to make your wood overlay on an existing chain link fence, was a lot of work, as well as removing your pool. I just have a design difference. Have you thought of a ground cover at the base of the fence to fill the gap there now which makes the fence look unsupported? I am more than 20 years older than you and can assure you climbing like a mountain goat will NOT get easier. Al

Since you are a skilled recycler, how about making terraces from gabions filled with recycled material. They are cool. Another 4 year project! :)

Linda, I admire your humor about your probable design style! Admittedly it isn't one I would do either, but I think a good amount of vigorous plantings to fill that slope would go a long ways to making it all "knit" together. Your yellow bottlebrush is more likely a Melaleuca quinquenervia. Some plants that would do great on that slope and are succulents might include silvery grays such as Cotyledon orbiculata v. orbiculata and C. o. v. longifolia, Senecio mandraliscae, Oscularia deltoides, Kalanchoe pumila, Lampranthus, Delospermum, Drosanthemum are all very colorful spring blooming ice plants. If you lean more to hot colors, a few clumps of Tree Aloe, Aloe arborescens in red or yellow, Aloe striatula, A. camperi, A. cameronii, A.speciosa, A. thraskii, or A. vanbalenii. Aeonium 'Swartzkop', Anigozanthus flavidus 'Harmony' and 'Orange Cross' or 'Red Cross'. Outrageous fuchsia colered Calandrinia spectabilis would also do great on this slope. The succulent grassy foliage of yellow or orange flowered Bulbine frutescens would also give you lots of coverage and color. If you want some really larger growing sprawling sorts of shrubs with nearly year round bloom, I'd suggest Tecoma x smithii, Streptosolen jamesonii, or Tagetes lucida. Salvias such as Salvia leucantha cultivars, and Salvia pulchella x involucrata cover lots of space and give a tremendously long season of blooms.

In any case, waiting to plant out things until next fall's rains, and adding a drip system to water the slope with lines laid out level across the slope would make it much easier to establish the new plants.