Ideas for Landscaping on an Incline

Maintaining your home landscape is an important part of keeping your home's value intact. This is especially true if you have any kind of incline, either in your front or backyard. Depending on the grade or steepness of the hill, there are many ways to prevent erosion, maintain water levels and have a beautiful and well designed garden to enjoy.

Often the simplest plans are the best. The grade of the incline should dictate whether you can landscape the area with simple plants that are easy to care for. The easiest is grass. If the incline is just a slight slope and maintenance time is a consideration, planting a variety of grass compatible with the growing season in your area should be strongly considered. With a few well-placed trees to provide shade and interest, a lawn can be easily cared for with a twice-yearly application of fertilizer, water when needed and mowing when the growth exceeds 2 inches.

Ground covers can be planted on any grade of slope. Perennial in nature, they are usually planted to help prevent erosion. With the wide variety of ground covers available, some flowering and others not, it is possible to plan a landscape design that will be low-maintenance and still provide fragrant flowers and beautiful colors. Combine plantings of thyme, sweet woodruff, lamium and brass buttons to add interest and texture to your slope. Because most ground covers grow to a maximum height of 12 inches, they stay low and do not need to be mowed as a lawn would. Choose ground covers that grow well in your growing zone and light conditions.

Steep slopes often benefit from the installation of terraced areas. While this project can be a huge endeavor, the benefits are abundant. Soil erosion is limited, water flow can be redirected prevent flooding and areas can be planted with either perennial flowers and plants or edible fruits and vegetables providing fresh food for the household. Start planning your terraces with a bottom retaining wall. Flatten an area at least 5 feet wide beyond the wall. Use landscape timber or stone to build the next wall at the back of the flattened area. Decide how high you want your terraces to be and make allowances for steps for easy climbing.

Every gardener has had to deal with rocks at one time or another. Put them to work by creating a rock garden on your incline. Use the natural shape of your slope as your blueprint, adding large boulders and rocks buried in the ground of the slope and build your rock garden from the bottom up. Once the rocks are in place, plant drought-resistant plants and flowers among the flat spaces to give your garden a wild and natural look. Adding a water feature to the rocky slope can add atmosphere to your garden and encourage birds and wildlife to visit.