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HUGE slope

Posted by Amazngraece So Cal-Z#9 (My Page) on
Sat, Sep 3, 05 at 17:17

I have a slope between the top of my property (house) and the lower portion(horse arena) about 15 feet lower. The slope is 180 deep, and the horizontal line is about 30 feet. Yes, that makes almost 6000 square feet. We have just finished grading and it needs to be planted before rains.

The road up to my house goes past this slope first so I'd like some pretty ideas. It is under some power lines and I want eyes to go down to color/texture on the ground to minimize the lines. The house is traditional, eventually I will have 12 foot wide brick stairs down the center to lead from the house down to the horses, so I am thinking of a symmetrical planting of several types of ground covers.

I am overwhelmed, but have 4 preteen/teenagers that will put sweat equity in, so not afraid of hard work. Please suggest.

Full sun, soil has high clay content.
Thanks in Advance! Kathie


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: HUGE slope

Periwinkle is the hardiest evergreen ground cover we have. We have both the evergreen and the varigated. The only care it gets is cutting back periodically with a weed eater. We have it on a steep bank along the roadside and in rocky areas where mowing is difficult. EP


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RE: HUGE slope

:) diversty is the most important thing to consider when trying to stabilize a slope... you want things with different root depths, even if they're more or less the same height.

I'd jump over to the 'california' forum for zone-specific recommendations, but installing a mix of succulents (like ice plant, prickly pear, and aloes) drought tolerant groundcovers (rosemary, sages, natives) and accent plants (yucca for height and texture, small to mid-size shrubs, and things like Pineapple Sage, which goes from a cutting to a perennial monster in your area in a matter of months) will be your best bet-

and no, you don't have too much time to get the basics in, since they need to be starting root growth when the rains start in what, a month or so?

:) lucky you have the sweaty teens to help :)


 
 

 

 


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