Beginner Gardening: Need landscaping advice for a 60 degree slope , 1 by zenpotter

zenpotter wrote:
I am the steep hill expert. The hill I have done the most work on drops 5' 6" in 15 feet.

First and for most do not use landscape fabric. It wiill have edges showing and bare spots and be a big pain whenever you try to plant, Plus you will get more run off.

Here is what I have been doing and it works very well. I put black plastic down over the grass to kill it off. This takes several weeks and looks ugly. By leaving the dead grass it's roots hold the soil in place until your new plants get established. Once the grass is dead I take the plastic off and spread a 3-4" layer of farm post (composted horse manure and bedding straw). I use that b ecause it is free and easy to get. You can use any good compost. I then stake burlap down over the compost to hold it in place. You can top dress this withe compost or mulch to hide the burlap if you wish. Then comes the plants. Cut the burlap and fold it back, move the compost aside, put in the plant and tuck some of the compost and the burlap back around the plant. By the time the garden is well established the burlap will have decomposed and you will have a healthy lovely garden.

My first patch had plants that were to tall and they bent over. I now stick to low grow plants. Sedum, Crainsbill, pinks, creeping phlox and the like. Here it is.