did you do this yourself? awesome! how hard is it to keep up? very good idea.

Just beautiful I wish that I could do a waterfall on my hill, but mine is in the front yard that faces the street. if I did a waterfall, the tax man would be knocking in no time at all. They got us a few years ago for awnings. geesh!

I love it - I think we have sister ponds! Great minds think alike :^)

What kind of grass is that, to the left at the top? I like the way it droops. I too am starting to use more grasses. I have fountain grass and quaking oats.

And whats the bush to the right?

And thanks for posting pictures!

Thanks for the kind comments!

Yes I did build it myself and it was a chore. .I made most of the rock out of cement.

Jeanner..... when I wseen yoru pond I had to post mine. I thought man there so similiar! I live close to you to.. Esatern KY here.. :) The big grass I dont know what it is.. it grows native in North Carolina and I brought home a small piece and it just loves it up there.. it has really pretty flowing type flowers... I also want to get heavy into grasses.. the more I look the more beautiful I think they are and on our banks.. well they love it :)

The other bush is a combination.. I dont know what its called either but is very similiar to a rhodendron smaller type leaves.. has red berries on it. .but I have planted under it a white impatient that has taken off and mixed with it. kind of unusual :) I am on a pond forum that you would probalby love also..and I have tons of lillies if you ever need any !

tinkster

Those rocks are great - I had no idea they were cement! That is something that I would love to try someday.

I'm guessing that your bush is an azalae, maybe? I've tried those but they are notoriously hard to grow in Ohio clay. Rats.

But I am off to find some of that grass - it's not quaking oats is it?

hi there..

No its not an azela.. I have tons of those. THe leaves are very simliar in shape to azela but about 4 times as big and kind of a green waxy color.. I sure wish I knew what it was.. its a very lovely bush.. it does get bright red follage for fall and that stays on most the year.. then berries.. its not a holly... I will try to find out the name.. it seems to love it on the dry sunny bank.

I sure wish I knew what the grass was.. would it help you if I sent you some of the seeds.. its getting ready to have plumes?? I think to some of the arch you are seeing is cause I planted it angled so that it would not sit straight up.. but it does arch like that on its own to.

tinkster

please share how to do those rocks...sounds like a fun project! thanks

For some reason I thought this forum would be filled with posts about hillside problems.

You've taken the hillside or slope and used it entirely to your advantage. It looks great! No problems for you!

keep posting pictures as the seasons change for you or as you revise the site, very good stuff!

pura vida

Here is a link that might be useful: garden photo blog

I would also love to know how you made your "rocks" and the process of installing your waterfall.

Thank you for any facts you care to share. By the way, my husband and I just bought 14 acres in Powell Valley outside of Gate City, VA. You sound very close by that area. :) Part of the land drops off and I also want to make a waterfall that follows the natural grade of the hill. Also plan to install a dry river bed in one area...so I'm anxious to "pick your brain" about what you've done and how your season runs. (We are presently still living in zone 7B.)

Hope to hear from you!

Hi

We have a lotin common I'm into tropical and have a hillside with a waterfall and a lagoon.BUT as pretty as mine is I am completely blown away by your pictures I'M JEALOUS well just a little. When mine is done in a couple days I'll send some pics.

Plumie

WOW!! Beautiful!! How did you learn to make the cement rocks? Is there a book or a website? They look super!

Arlene

Beautiful! My son just bought a small house with a backyard that is on a hill & your pictures have inspired me. I've never worked on a hill before. Your pictures make me want to get busy. We're going to have to make steps for my son to get better access to the lower portion of his property. Thanks again for the beautiful photos.

Hi, I am new on this site. Name is Bianchi.

WOW, Costa Rica, how gorgeous is that. love all the vegetation, you are spoiled.

Love the pond, waterfall and all the grasses from tinkster. What a great job.
I have a backyard that's sloping. After fighting the dying grass every year, I finally decided to put a rock garden in at least half the yard. I really love it. Trying to find some pictures to post.
Bianchi

That is beautiful! My sister has a hill behind her house..she wold love to see this!

any photos of the before hillside?
I need some encouragment. I am worried my hillside will slip away over the winter.
lovelycherry

Hello again.. IM sorry I just totally forgot to post to this. The "fake" rocks are very easy to make. I will enclose a few pictures of the side part of the hill off from the pond that I am currently working on.

I just take anything scarp.. rocks, pieces of styrofoam containers, busted up concrete, even piles of dirt will work.. but for me since I have so much sandrock I just used them... I make a mound where I want the rock. Then I mix up cement, portland, sand and water and add some dark grey cement coloring from lowes, and mix to a dry mix the consistancy of toothpaste, then I stand back and just take a handfull of it and throw it on the mound. This creates a spattered look and when it dries has a great texture that looks alot like rocks. You can also pat it on if you dont like the look of throwing the cement. Use can use old paint brushes or other rocks to press into it to get the texture of other rocks. I painted a few but then stopped doing that as when they get dirty and age they look great.

Anyway.. I now have the steps in on this but havent had a chance to take new pictures.. but here it all is.. and also a picture of the whole bank before I started as requested.

You have done an amazing job! Now how about coming to my house and helping me? How wide and high is the slope?
My slope is similar very steep and out my back door.
I feel a great deal of encouragement from seeing these picture.
How did you deal with rain runoff water?
Lovelycherry

I will try to explain.. its very difficult. My bank is very steep, particulary at the top. I have graded the bottom half of it more into tiers . It probably 30 ft tall x 200 ft wide and goes around one whole side of my house and around the other till it finally levels off. It makes like a huge L around my house. The more rocks you make or place on it, the more you can plant on the sides and behind, which holds the water. I also have lots and lots of groundcovers. My bank was right in my back door off my screened in porch which would flood every time it rained.

I took the bank and cut it back total vertical and put in a 3 ft retaining wall before I put down my flagstone patio. I put a french drain under the patio which runs all down the back side of my house and over the hill. On top of the patio I put 4 plastic drains that are hooked into this piping. I then laid the patio. Right now as I get very little runnoff as I have so much planted on the banks, and the way my lands slops off to the side, I have dug several "diversion" ditches from the top of my bank off to the sides.

The pond is also raised this same 3 ft. above the flagstone patio with a berm which I have planted heavily with ground covers and plants.. I get almost no runnoff from it. The the very bottom waterfall into the pond.. That is a dramatic sharp 3 ft drop off. To each side of the waterfall I have this same drop off and I dug out big holes and lined them with extra liner to use to catch any water running down the hill so it could not go into the pond. I plant lotus and pond bog plants in them. My pond gets zero runnoff. Between the two "3ft" drop offs.. the pond berm and then the pond bottom waterfall, I was able to get rid of 6 ft of total drop. Anyway.. I am sure this doesnt make sense but is the best way I know how to describe it. I have put lots of pictures before during and after so you can see.

tinkster

Wow. That is absolutely ingenious. Great engineering! Thanks for the photos and the tutorial on thrown rocks -- I never would have thought of that. Good way to use the broken bricks and chunks of patio instead of hauling it to the dump and paying to dispose of it. Thanks, Tinkster!