Suggestions for landscaping a steep bank

Cuttlefish

Hi there

So i am hoping to tackle a section of my rear garden in the year ahead. It is a sloping bank in top of a wall in my garden and atop of that is the neighbours fence/ garden as seen in the photos attached.

I intend to replace the weed suppressent fabric and plant some suitable plants that are low maintenance and would be suitable for the area. I dont want plants that require a lot of work some light pruning etc is fine

One plant for example I was thinking of is periwinkle. I'd like to maybe break the look of the fencing with some medium height shrubs or a beech for example. Also thinking of maybe some grasses.

Not sure if the fencing is staying as it belongs to my neighbour how if it is there next spring I will change the color to a dark grey perhaps.

Anyways looking for some suggestions from fellow gardeners so what wood you suggest for this area??

The length is 9m approx and about 1.5m width.

I think i read somewhere that you can purchase a specialised weed suppressant fabric for slopes also!!

looksee

That really isn't all that steep. If you cleared some of the stones out and filled it with soil to the top of the wall it would only have a slight slope up to the fence. Which direction does it face? That will make a considerable difference to what you plant.

Beech would be too big for there. Something like buddeia would be more suited to the site, they are vigorous but you can cut them down to ground level every year in the early spring and they will grow full height and be covered in flowers and butterflies in the summer. Periwinkle (Vinca Major) would be good too, a few of them would fill the area and save you the bother of both membrane and weeding once they are established.

I would not put membrane on there, its more trouble than it is worth. Do some close planting of, for example Periwinkle and a few shrubs, put a good deep mulch of woodchip on it and you will be done. Well, nearly done, there will always be a few weeds come through but you will get weeds round the edges of membrane too on an irregular site, but it will not be a big deal to keep it clear. Some climbers on the fence would be good too, but not if you are going to paint it or it is going to be changed.

Its important to know what direction it faces though.

rje66

Agree with whst Looksee says. For plants I'd plant groups of say 5-7 per species, that way when they fill out it will look better than loads of individual plants. Cotoneaster, cistus, potentilla, abelia, grasses as you mentioned, miscanthus varieties get upto 1.8m, skimmia ,hebes, euonymus are all bomb proof . Just choose contrasting colours and texture and varied flowering times.

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120026255#Comment_120026255

Facing east so gets a good bit of sun. Good idea about raising the top soil

looksee

Apart from a few spring flowering plants that don't like early morning sun on their frosted flowers - Camellias are the only ones that I can think of off-hand - east is fine for plants described as preferring part shade. They like some sun but by midday and certainly for the evening they will be in shade. In your case mostly fairly light shade so it is not too restricting.

Be careful with climbers, the few that will be happy in shade - honeysuckle, clematis montana, ivy, tend to make very robust growth that could damage the fence after a few years.

Don't worry about planting right up the last rise to the fence, even medium height plants placed further forward will disguise that short steep slope.

Cuttlefish

One thing I must address first is the leggy bush in the corner it is infested with brambles

The Continental Op

One plant springs to mind for covering part of the wall

Rosmarinus officinalis Prostratus, creeping rosemary

looksee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120028218#Comment_120028218

Oh that's nice, I must remember that one, couple of places it would suit (not as pretty as your wall though!).

Ah! it needs full sun. Of course it does, its rosemary! My 8ft high, almost vertical, sandy subsoil bank is in serious shade (the land was dug out to create a level bit for the house) so at the moment it is allowed to grow whatever it wants plus some archangels /yellow deadnettle and the last remnants of the rubus tricolour. Fortunately I am quite fond of the tall plantains 😀, foxgloves and teasels.

Cuttlefish

Was in a local garden centre earlier and came across two possible plants

The Continental Op

The pittosporum tobira is firstly a rip of, secondly not that hardy (recent weather with no protection could kill it), thirdly dead boring and finally it could become too big for that spot.

looksee

The dwarf pampas grass would probably be ok, wouldn't be my first choice for that situation, but that's just personal.

The pittosporum is tender so I wouldn't put it there at all.

The Continental Op

I'll also add not to trust the pampas, I've that same one that is 12 ft tall. Probably a mix up. The only reliable dwarf one I know is Cortaderia richardii, shorter foliage long seed heads.

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120028806#Comment_120028806

OK thanks for the tip on the pittosporum - it aint cheap at €40 so wont go with that if it is tender and i guess not frost hardy??

The pampas looks nice but maybe not as dwarf as I would want

Cuttlefish

anyone care to name this grass for me...

looksee

That is quite a demanding site, I wouldn't plant anything unusual/expensive up there. There are loads of the 'bog standard' shrubs that are reliable and cheap - cheap because they are easy to grow and propagate and are popular. Look at the cotoneasters, buddleias, spirea, carpet/cottage roses (not the floribundas or hybrid teas), heather, yucca, hebe.

I think your original suggestion of Vinca Major was a very good idea.

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120029401#Comment_120029401

Demanding as in what way?

In a personal way it is demanding in getting up and down to it - i do have railway sleeper steps to the left of the garden but tend not to use them too much. In winter/ wet weather not at all as they are lethally slippery (intend to bolt/ screw anti-slip strips to them at some stage) and also because I was worried about the wall stability but that was addressed about 6 weeks ago with wall anchors as you can see in some of the photos.

I would like to landscape and have minimal maintenance however if there is some maintenance required I would prefer using a step ladder from the lower section, if possible.

Prior to any planting I will have to remove rubble/ old sleepers and old weed fabric. Then perhaps remove the layer of stones/ pebbles etc. It was suggested I bring in more top soil and raise the ground somewhat not easy as I would have to do this by hand/ bucket so that will be quite demanding So there is a bit of prep work before I even start planting. Again another suggestion is a good layer of bark mulch and originally I was thinking of weedfabric and a layer of stones/ pebbles but I think a deep layer of bark mulch is a better idea,

Not sure if I should stagger the slope in some way as in a line of bricks or kerning or just leave well alone

The area to the right has a scrawny shrub that has brambles intertwined so gotta remove that and no doubt the brambles will still appear as they are in the border between fours houses as such!

Agree with you not buying anything too expensive will try to get something of interest colorwise but mainly something that will give ground cover and will be easy to grow.

Thanks for responding

looksee

Demanding in the sense that it is somewhat exposed, it is east facing, there may or may not be a lot of soil, and it will not be easy to get at - as you have pointed out. You could find it is rather dry so plants that are very easy going will be better, plants that, once they are established will look after themselves.

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120029947#Comment_120029947

Agree on all the points you have made - totally exposed, with regards amount of soil it was an old earthen back that was crumbling hence the wall that I had built in front of it in about 2007 or thereabouts

Cuttlefish

Have been looking at some possibilities

Siberian Cypress “ Celtic pride”

Creeping Phlox

Unsupervised

Why not fill it with Lavender?

The Continental Op

Still needs topping up with soil. Looks like it needs about 2 of the one tonne bags.

imo nothing looks worse than sparse growing shrubs in beds with no obvious soil in them.

East isn't too bad I've grown plenty on east facing walls.

That area has loads of potential. Sorry OP I don't know where you are getting your ideas but they aren't very good ones (OK so Creeping Phlox isn't a bad one).

I'd go with Fatsia japonica in the right hand (as you look at it) corner.

On the front I'd have the creeping rosemary (see above), prostrate conifers (there are quite a few that will grown down given a chance), cotoneasters - horizontalis, francettii, dammeri (remove growth the grows back into the bed), Exochorda x macrantha 'The Bride', Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Repens' (bit tender but worth a try) Lathyrus latifolius and or vernus and convolvulus cneorum.

I'll see what reaction that gets then think about middle and back. A laburnum would look nice growing out the bank at an angle so the flowers were over the patio?

The Continental Op

Another quick comment, you don't need anything that will grow huge up on that bank so google any thing you are buying on your phone before you pay just in case you are buying a monster ;-)

Agree with the lavender but the soil on that bank needs to be on dry the side for it to grow well.

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030268#Comment_120030268

Sorry if some of the ideas are poor ones though the creeping phlox does have potential 🙂

Fatsia japonica - Caster oil plants they can grow quite big!

Periwinkles and some geraniums would suit up there I think?

a creeping rosemary falling over the wall face would be nice I agree

”imo nothing looks worse than sparse growing shrubs in beds with no obvious soil in them”

agree with your comment and I can’t tell the level of soil up there at the moment

i need to remove debris etc and see how the soil is, having to add almost two tonne of top soil is quite daunting especially as I have to transport by the bucket I’d guess

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030146#Comment_120030146

I’d like the idea of a few lavender plants but not the entire wall

The Continental Op

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030339#Comment_120030339

18 - 20 easy barrow loads to a metric tonne bag, 4 easy buckets to a barrow so in the region of 72 - 80 buckets, by easy I mean not full and easy to push/carry.

Start on the right hand corner, get one tonne bag and plant/top fill as you move across the bed.

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030356#Comment_120030356

Hey thanks for the breakdown - reading what you are saying it is doable! Am working on my own doing this but as you point out easy buckets would be the way to go and attainable

Cuttlefish

Just thought I'd provide an update to my wall/ bank let me know what ye think

looksee

Good job on raising the soil level, it looks much more likely to grow things now. I doubt the membrane will last long but it doesn't have any planting so it won't matter. Look forward to seeing it planted up, its looking good.

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120445066#Comment_120445066

Yeah the membrane i wanted to put down as I wanted to separate the area from the planting section and I used lawn edging pieces to hold back falling material from the garden above so in essence i created planting boxes/ sections

I am still mulling over what to do with the waste area that I have started with the membrane so ideas are welcome - some say put stones/ pebbles there but I need quite a bit so I was just gonna cover with membrane and have it pegged down and that in time the plants in the bedding section would grow and mature and "block" out the area

Bought some winter/ autumn heathers ["Erica], have two carpet roses and also two hibiscus and will plant in some nice grasses - Also have a california lilac that may go well up there.

Will transplant my daffodils and I bought two packs of Anemone bulbs that look great in Spring. a Vibernum would like nice too

standardg60

The pile of rocks you have would look great placed on the membrane for me.

The two gold Ericas look like arborea (tree heather) which will easily exceed 6 feet so bear that in mind when planting

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120449064#Comment_120449064

Actually have three of them and they are listed as 4 feet in height!!??

looksee

I have a couple that I inherited with the garden, the taller of the two is about 4ft but they are living on a very steep bank with no topsoil, just rocky, sandy subsoil, in almost permanent shade, and still they flower beautifully! I've been thinking of getting a few more but haven't made the effort yet. I reckon they have been there years.

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120470838#Comment_120470838

Any chance of a photo or two ?

looksee

Sure, but don't expect too much of the bank, whatever is willing to grow there just grows, mostly weeds, dead nettle (Yellow Archangels), sedum and a bit of Rubus Tricolour (which has been severely cut back but keeps coming) but they hold the surface together! The rocks are randomly gathered, the garden grows more rocks than plants, and may become a wall at some stage.

This was just taken (8.30am) and the sun is now pulling back behind the house so the bit of early morning sun is all it gets. The bigger one has been in lovely flower but is about over, the smaller one is still in flower. The bigger one is just over 4ft, its hard to measure on the slope!

standardg60

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120470815#Comment_120470815

They will get bigger than that if left but you can trim them after flowering, as long as you keep plenty of leaf. I'd actually trim the ones you have back by half now as it will encourage them to bush out.

The other ericas should be trimmed after flowering too, trim just below the faded flowers but again keep plenty of leaf.

Cuttlefish

Evening folks

So this evening I planted out a section oon top of the wall, let me know what ye think?

Do I need to add more than the two carpet roses' and the Diosma or will they grow/ spread and fill the area? The carpet roses are supposed to have a 1 metre spread

Cuttlefish

Slight change to this section - removed all daffodil bulbs

planted some anemone bulbs to the front right of this section and came me across these plants that might look nice - thinking if 4 or 5 of these -Imperata “red baron”

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120445066#Comment_120445066

You were dead right about the membrane, it started to tear shortly after installing and was really annoyed with myself when it started to happen!! It was supposed to be heavy duty!! Heavy duty my ass LOL

Anyways I have started to cover this with a better hard wearing membrane as seen below

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120030356#Comment_120030356

Decided on getting backs of garden soil think €108 for 32 bags and delivery was free so worked out more or less about the same if getting a bag (tonne or less) delivered and meant I could lug them all in from the front to the bag and work at my own pace. I actually have three/ four bags left so I had more than enough in the end. I think a one tonne bag would have been too much. Will post a couple of photos of how it looks now.

Let me know what ye think!

Cuttlefish

Here is the wall as of yesterday, let me know what ye think!

looksee

It looks gorgeous!

wildwillow

Looks great, especially after the long dry spell we had last month.

OscarMIlde

Looks great. Such a change in how it looks. Must be nice to have all the hard work pay off.

Cuttlefish

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120882775#Comment_120882775

Getting there. will see how the plants establish themselves and in the Spring maybe add plants where there are gaps but overall it is looking good.

I was disappointed with weed fabric that I i bought and installed in March, it didnt last a few weeks before breaking up. So have started laying down are harder wearing weed fabric. Hard area to work with but doing it in small sections.

phormium

Looks great, had to do a similar sort of space few years back, used old carpet instead of weed fabric until plants were established, got some old books of samples from carpet shop and put them down between plants, easy then to work around plants as they are only smallish squares of carpet. I normally put it face down and did initially but later when I was happy with enough planting and spread and just wanted to fill in spaces with gravel I turned it to face up as it held the stones better. In bigger beds I just used old carpet in a sheet and cut holes for plants as you would with membrane and covered then with gravel. Nothing will come up through carpet and even if weeds manage to root in the gravel they don't get down through the carpet.

Interestingly I did 4 large beds, 3 done with carpet as weed suppressant and membrane in the final one when I ran out of carpet and couldn't get my hands on some more. The 3 carpet beds are thriving but the plants in the membrane one have been slower to take off and had to replace several along the way!

I had that lovely red grass myself several times and it never came back a second year unfortunately. I have a lot of London Pride as a filler in the high border, easy to divide to fill new gaps as needed, great ground cover and evergreen.