Hi Chris,

I think you have a great opportunity with that location. I would love a full sun location on a slope. Great drainage. At least I think I would..lol. I have a lot of part sun/shade, so I am a little envious of all the plants people can grow who have full sun.

I don't know if you are concentrating on shrubs and trees or perennials too? Since I don't have a lot of experience with full sun and my lot is level, I can't be of too much help, but I could share with you the plants I would most like to grow if I had full sun.

Roses and more roses
Butterfly Bushes, I wouldn't be without, maybe not in z5?
Conifers ..so many
Grasses
Viburnum carliesii..fall color/fragrance
Ilex verticilata ..fall color/winter berries

Hope that helps some and at least starts the ball rolling. Have you tried the UConn database? Nice for selecting certain attributes and doing a search.

:-)
pm2

Chris,
Although a flatlander I do have a berm aka Navy garbage pile in my front yard that presents some of the same challenges as a slope. Over the years I have attempted to plant some of it but the primary plant life are volunteeers/invasives. What I have learned is water and or the understanding lack of is key. Layering of the plant size is one thing to consider but more importantly what is the plants root system likely to do in search of water? I do have a few Viburnum dentatem volunteers that are very happy as well as rosa rugosa. You might want to do a little reading this winter about gardening on a slope. Idabean has been planting on a slope in her back yard for a number of years and I am sure has a wealth of information. kt

Strangely, after I got off the computer last night, I was reading an Organic Garden magazine and wouldn't you know there was an article on growing on a slope..lol. The May 2007 issue. It is only a one page article but it did have a list of plant recommendations for a slope.

Highlights of the list...
Trees...Birch, Dogwood, Japanese Maple
Shrubs...Creeping juniper, Creeping mahonia, potentilla, rugosa rose, viburnum
Grasses...Blue fescue, Big/Little Bluestem, Switchgrass
Perennials....Creeping thyme, ajuga, phlox subulata, hardy geranium, sedum, daylily, penstemon

I would add if you are interested in salvias or lavender, both of those are plants that really appreciate good drainage and full sun and might be a good fit for you. Some salvias will also attract hummingbirds, too.

pm2

Before going into suggesting any particular plants it would be better to know:
-how this bed will be watered (if at all),
-how it will be seen, from bottom up or from top down,
-what is in a background (evergreens/deciduous/woods/ neighbor's houses etc),
-what it will be surrounded with (grass/weeds/rocks etc)
Picture will certainly help.:-)))

Hi Chris, I have a slope rear side of my house(from my deck I look up the slope).
It has southwest exposure so gets mostly sun. I have been working on an evergreen garden there for the past 8 yrs. Evergreens are goodlooking all year with particular beauty in the winter and are relatively easy to maintain once established. They can take harsh elements and are mostly free from serious diseases and pests. I have a combination of groundcover junipers, blue spruce, dwarf mugo pine, chamaecyparis etc. Because I do lose a few every winter to deer browsing, I only buy plants on sale. Replacing them isn't quite as painful!
I also have interspersed some heathers with the conifers. If you are interested in a conifer garden, look at the book Gardening with Conifers by Adrian Bloom. That's how I first decided on this garden. The photos are absolutely magnificent. I would send you a photo of my garden but I'm new to this website and have to find out how to do it. Sue

Hi,
Sorry about my hiatus. I didn't intend to post and not reply back. I did intend to get some pictures taken which I still haven't managed to do. It's not incredibly steep. My husband can mow it sideways on his tractor but sometimes slips which is why we want to replace the lawn with garden. I did find a partial shot of the slope. It's in the far background of this pic. Please excuse my sick lawn. It's all better now. The bed would actually go somewhere in the area seen in the photo and possibly extend further left. NOt really sure where to put it.

Here are a few answers to your questions-
The slope will mostly be viewed from the bottom up by drivers by and by me. ONe neighbor will look down at it.
For now it will be watered by me. Sprinklers are a maybe for next year but not a definite. I don't work in the summer so will be able to tend to the water needs well.
There is no background at all. The slope leads from my yard to my neighbors driveway.

It is surrounded by lawn on all sides.

Gypsysue, I actually hope to create somewhat of a conifer garden in my backyard on another slope. My yard leads to the woods but they aren't very pretty and the yard is very open. I want to decrease the lawn size by bringing the woodsey feel down the slope. I will check out that book but would love to see pics of yours.

PM2. I like your list as it mirrors some of my favs in my other beds that require very little maintenance. I don't have any roses and may stay away from them as japanese beetles have been a huge problem. I'm looking for something a little more informal for the bed.

Will I cause problems if I plant a tree now, say a birch, and then work the bed in the spring? As I said, the bed is currently lawn.

Thanks for your help.

A couple more questions:
Is your soil sandy or loamy?
That shape might be the edge of a septic mound - is it?

I'd say it's more clay like but not too bad.

No, that mound is safely away from the septic by at least 20 or more feet. You can see the vent pipe in foreground bed and the leach field comes to the foreground.

Thanks for asking.

Do you want a bed there, or is it just to solve a mowing problem? Nobody hast to mow from side to side, tractors also go up and down.

Next question is how comfortable are you working out there? If it isn't a place you want to be working, you won't go out there and are much better with a shrub bed than a perennial bed.

Clay doesn't need sprinklers, and from what I've seen irrigation creates more problems than it solves.

Having a 'purpose' for the bed will help a lot with figuring out the size, shape and location.

Mad_gallica,
We want a bed AND to solve a mowing problem. Our lot is wide open as they cleared almost every tree when they built the house. I want some interest there and have no problems tending to it. Not sure why you got the impression that I didn't want to work there.
We are well aware that tractors can go both ways. The slope is steep enough to prevent mowing up and down and it still slips from time to time going sideways.
Irrigation will primarily be for the lawns sake as we have 1.5 acres of mostly lawn and it's pretty hard on my dragging sprinklers around so I don 't have a dead lawn and new shrubs, trees and perrenials.

The reason I asked is because often working beds in the front yard is a very different proposition from working in the backyard. Try taking a book and a lawn chair out there and reading for 15 minutes. How long is it before you feel very exposed and squirmy. Planting cover will help somewhat, but you are still going to be out there.

Watering a lawn regularly in this climate does two things. It wastes water, and it prevents the grass from getting deep enough into the soil to survive watering restrictions. Consider watering a form of addiction. If you addict your plants to watering, then cut them off cold turkey, the results are far worse than if the plants aren't used to it.

The reason I asked is because often working beds in the front yard is a very different proposition from working in the backyard. Try taking a book and a lawn chair out there and reading for 15 minutes. How long is it before you feel very exposed and squirmy.

Ah. You just hit on why I haven't enjoyed my front yard garden nearly as much as I thought I would. That's an excellent insight!

See, I don't mind it at all. I love my neighbors and neighborhood and sometimes feel very lonely in my backyard. That said, I don't want a high maintenance bed either. I'm always looking for someone to chat with :o)

Hi Chris,
I think you provided enough info to start working with.
My first and foremost concern about proposed bed location will be water run-off and soil slides after the rain.
Right now it's OK because grass is holding the soil, but as soon as you remove grass bare soil will start eroding.
To solve this problem you could,
- plant trees and shrubs with substantial and preferably deep root systems,
- use perennials with spidery spreading root system which will be able to manage/control erosion,
- use several relatively large rocks here and there in a bed to hold the soil,
- build a retaining wall (30-40" tall will be enough, I think) at the bottom of the slope.
Personaly, I would of use combination of all of the above.
Also, if it would be me I would of,
-made two (and possibly three if space allow) large irregular shape beds instead of just one large bed,
-use one small to medium size tree in each bed plus shrubs of the larger scale (5-6' tall and up), but just only a few perennials and only in mass planting,
-when selecting trees and shrubs pay attention to the winter appearance,
-devoted each of those beds to the mass planting of just 2-3-4 names and would not try to recreate hatch-patch meadow or cottage garden.
How is that for start?
I'm sure others will chime in and give you more ideas.