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Need ideas please for a steep slope

Arthur ZoneArthur Zone Posts: 2
in Garden design

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some ideas for a sloped garden. I've been scratching my head for a while and I'm not sure what to do with it.

We have a south facing rear garden with a sloped section. the slope is quite steep (roughly 30 degrees) and that makes it difficult to maintain. There are some large rocks dotted around too.

Ideally, I'd like to somehow level into sections to make it easier to access but I'm open to any ideas to make it more beautiful and accessible.

I've added a couple of images. The left hand section is fine as there are steps making access quite easy. The right hand section is the bit I need some help with.

Thanks for looking and if I can provide any more details to help just let me know image

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Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,840

    Have a look at the latest Big Dreams, Small Spaces programmes from this series on i-Player.   One, the first I think, deals with how to handle just such a slope by terracing and building wooden retaining walls.  

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • floraliesfloralies Posts: 2,586

    In the last series of Beechgrove Garden, Chris Beardshaw helped a couple with a garden very similar to this, whether it it still available to be seenl I don't know. I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. Perhaps others would know?

  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,823

    Our garden is steeply terraced, with 3 levels (the top level is about 7ft above ground level). On photos 1 & 2, railway sleepers hold back the top terrace, but are hidden by a mature Cotoneaster. The photos were taken a year apart, so slightly different planting scheme.

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     Photo 3 shows more recent work, using sleepers as retainers and photo 4 shows it with more mature planting.  Hard work with slopes, but lots of drama that flat gardens don't necessarily have, so don't give up!

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    Our garden's share many similarities and we also have some very large boulders, which we reconfigured. Happy to share more photos/ideas. 

     

     

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,391

    I agree, terracing is the way to go.  If you can make a level path from left to right, starting about half way up the steps, you'll be able to reach any section for maintenance.   Some of those large rocks will be in the way though, so you'll need some help to either get them moved or removed.  You might even be able to re-use them as a kind of retaining 'wall', otherwise you'll need to build one, perhaps using wooden sleepers.  It'll be hard work and may need a professional to do it safely.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Lou12Lou12 Posts: 1,149

    What wouldn't I do for a lovely slope like that to grow things on! First thing I'd put in would be a mature cotoneaster horizontalis for some ground cover.

     

  • Arthur ZoneArthur Zone Posts: 2

    Hi everyone,

    Thanks for all the replies and the beautiful photos. I guess I have quite a way to go to reach that standard!

    I hadn't thought about running a path from the steps all the way across the slope but that does sound like a good idea and it would make maintenance mush easier. Time to get my thinking cap on.

    And thanks for suggesting Cotoneaster. I hadn't heard of that plant but will do some research. Any particular evergreen varieties that anyone can recommend?

     

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