I may be posting to the wrong sub-forum so please excuse this question.
In 2012 I re-graded a 3 level garden terrace back into a sloped hill and covered it with grass. However, since that time, I had left a portion uncovered due to its steep slope and potential difficulty with cutting grass on that slope. I've attached a photo. Given that it is May 2020 I thought I would finally take the opportunity to cover this bare region to try and strangle the forthcoming weeds.
The area is in direct sunlight for most of the day and becomes quiet dry in the depths of summer. However, during heavy rain this area becomes "Niagara Falls" due to the influx of water from the adjacent neighbour's property. It is located in Zone 5a of Toronto.
I have the mindset of a gardener but I have no experience with the selection of a proper ground cover for this hill. As I have never dealt with such shrubbery before, I did want to lay out some basic requirements:
- It should not creep everywhere as I do not wish it to get into my adjacent neighbour's backyards.
- Its primary purpose is to push out the weeds which normally come to occupy this bare hill.
- It can deal with direct sunlight throughout the year and require little watering.
- Rather than just a uniform ground cover I am also open to adding in some additional plants to spruce up this region of my backyard and which would require little work year after year. I am not looking to make a prize winning backyard but rather something that is attractive, fairly low maintenance and will choke out the weeds.
Thank you in advance for any advice or suggestions.
Suggestions as how to handle this bare sloped hill?
Hi EtobicokeGarden,
Is that your neighbor's property just beyond the fence on the left-hand side of the photo? They seem to have grass on the same slope. I am no fan of mowing on a slope, so I will not suggest you also have grass on that slope.
That doesn't seem like a very big area. Do you like birds? You could install a bird bath and/or a bird feeder there, and cover the surrounding ground with decorative rocks and pebbles--maybe even a small rock garden. Or maybe a sun dial or other garden-type sculpture or some kind of metal art suitable for gardens or landscaping. I have seen decorative wind mills that looked like metal flowers.
What about thyme? Not even creeping thyme, but regular thyme gets nice and sturdy and spreads a little, I have it on a sloping rock wall and it definitely helps with erosion!! I also love creeping phlox because it spreads very slowly (very controllable)
white clover
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