Not much. I would suggest you fill the gully in with river stone or pea gravel to make a dry river bed and stop further erosion then plant the edges with plants that like moist shade -- ferns or moss.

Thanks Judy, that helps. I have used ferns in the wooded area and will move some to beside the gully. It's kind of hard to correct year of water washing away the ground.
Nancy

You could fill the existing gully with the boulders and gravel and then secure the channel on either side by staking in bio-logs planted with shrubs that like that sort of situation (NC natives like yaupon, arrowwood, ink berry, silverbells; I like spice bush a lot in that kind of setting as it's a good bird AND butterfly plant). Lots of native sedges (Carex spp.) and ferns (Osmundias and ostrich fern, Goldie's Wood fern) will fill the gaps. Roots slow down water better than gravel alone, and the habitat you created around a wet, discarded area wiil be appreciated all the more by local wildlife...

Here is a link that might be useful: Erosion Control Products

Scott, so the bio-logs would line up parallel with the creek bed?? Have you worked with them? I like your plant suggestions, esp the spice bush. I also have about two dozen baby Christmas Ferns that will be looking for a home this spring.

That's one way (and the one I was suggesting). Another solution would be to put the logs across the gully in a sequence to slow the flow entirely and let it seep into the area; that would be okay in a shallower area, but if it's a steep area (as the word gully infers), then I'd do it the first way.

Christmas ferns like moist woodland soil, but not the full out stream-side damp of the list I gave you. They might do well at the top of the gully where there was more drainage, but as you get closer to the stream the wetlanders will do MUCH better (and bigger; Goldies and ostrich fern can be 5 footers in that kind of area!) The roots of the shrubs will secure the banks much better than stone and the sedges will really fill in and naturalize the area. You could add native wildflowers like cardinal flower and trout lilies. It may end up being one of the nicest garden areas in your yard if your not careful...;)

Actually I mispoke on the order of construction; first bio-logs, then boulders, then gravel, then planting...

once you get that set up... primroses love nothing better than to grow beside a running stream, and down in NC, wontering would be no problem for them (I'm up in Pennsy, and have about half of them live through the winter.... not bad for a greenhouse plant that's not supposed to be hardy)

they make great underplantings for the ferns, come in wonderful colors, and don't make a whole lot of mess.

chinacat, I'm afraid the stream only runs when we have heavy rains. I'm going to check on the primroses. I like that idea, also. Nancy

Good call ChinaCat, Japanese primroses in particlar like that boggy situation and the light green foliage really stands out in shade. And the pink/red color really pops with all that green we were talking about. Nice!