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Landscaping on Steep Slopes: Hillside Landscaping

Wish you had steps running up your hillside? At the very least, your hill may need a retaining wall. Steep slopes present a great challenge to your landscaping acumen. If you fail to tackle hillside landscaping, you may face erosion problems. But attempts at hillside landscaping by the novice often end up with time and money wasted. So before you begin, read these tips for landscaping a slope.
Building Dry Creek Beds on Hillsides to Prevent Erosion
Are you losing soil on a hillside to erosion? If so, consider installing a dry creek bed. This tutorial tells you how, step by step. And dry creek beds look so good, some people install them even if they do not have erosion problems!
How to Build Stone Retaining Walls
If you have a slight slope you'd like to tame, building a mortar-less stone retaining wall might be the answer for you. Building such retaining walls is an excellent project for the do-it-yourselfer, are visually appealing and complement rock gardens beautifully.
Juniper Plants for Hillside Landscaping
Those seeking plant options for landscaping slopes should strongly consider junipers. Blue Rug juniper plants and their relatives are sturdy evergreen groundcovers for sunny slopes. Using juniper groundcovers controls erosion and weeds, and also eliminates your having to mow steep slopes. These plants are truly a boon to hillside landscaping!
Landscaping Hills With Pachysandra
Pachysandra is a popular groundcover for shady slopes. Also known as Japanese Pachysandra, these perennials do flower but are grown primarily for the foliage with which they'll grace your hillside landscaping.
Creeping Phlox Plants
A slight slope in a sunny area with well-drained soil, rich in humus, can be covered with creeping phlox as a groundcover to help prevent erosion. Phlox produces a myriad of blooms in spring, and using it in hillside landscaping gives you an optimal opportunity to show off its beauty. But phlox won't prevent erosion on problem hillsides as well as do sturdier groundcovers, such as juniper.
Railroad Ties for Retaining Walls and More
Customers have contributed photos to Railway Sleepers.com, illustrating some of the many uses for railroad ties ("railway sleepers" in the U.K.) around the yard. Retaining walls, landscaping steps and raised beds made of railroad ties are just some of the ideas explored on this site.

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