8 Unique Sloped Garden Ideas for a Backyard Oasis
I’ve seen many backyards with weed filled slopes that homeowners are too intimidated to touch for fear of appearing in the latest California landslide news. It can be difficult to imagine that a severely sloped yard can be anything other than a semi-dead weed garden. Fortunately this is not the case and there are many options for beautifying sloped gardens. Drive along highway 1, or any coastal highway,and it’s easy to find cliff sides covered in native vegetation. Consider that these hillsides and cliffs are thriving in a very harsh environment without maintenance or irrigation systems. Compare this to a bare sloped garden in a backyard and the idea of beautifying a slope becomes that much less intimidating.Sloped Garden Considerations
When planting a sloped garden, it is best to use mostly native plant material. Natives require less amending and excavation of soil, which is essential when planting a sloped garden. Natives quickly establish to their environment, once they do they are fairly self sustainable. Using Australian and New Zealand native plants is also a great option. Once a slope is planted, these plants will do a fantastic job at keeping the earth from washing out in a storm. A bare sloped hill is more at risk for erosion than a fully planted hillside. Weeds may work temporarily but they do not have a deep rooting system that larger shrubs and small trees would have for the long term. When we planted a hillside in the San Jose area (see our Bimmerle project), we quickly realized the need to prevent erosion as the hillside was very steep. To prevent erosion in a hillside’s initial stages, it’s best to use burlap fabric and cover your hillside. We used landscape staples to keep it in place, then we cut out holes where each plant was to be planted. Once the hillside was planted out, we used a Redwood fiber mulch called “Gorilla hair” that is fantastic for preventing erosion and slowing the intensity of heavy rains. Your hillside garden should begin to thrive and look like a mature planting within its first year of planting. From there it’s best to maintain your natives annually, they will reward you with bountiful flower displays, hummingbirds and butterflies. All while protecting your hillside from erosion and weeds for years to come.8 Sloped Garden Ideas
Some see sloping gardens as a landscaping nightmare waiting to happen. Others see them as an opportunity. At Petrus, we see opportunities in all natural areas and believe that proper hillside landscaping is an asset to any California home. If you’re all out of ideas, here are some gorgeous hillside landscaping ideas to inspire homeowners living on the edge1. Use Retaining Walls
Retaining walls are critical for building a strong foundational structure for your sloped yard by holding back the soil. While retaining walls may not sound like the essence of backyard beauty, they serve as excellent locations for a hillside flower bed or stylish rockwall. Infuse additional color into your yard by planting in the nooks scattered across the wall’s surfaces. Budget materials like dry-stacked, salvaged concrete can give the appearance of luxury additions to your yard with the addition of a flower wall. Select your plants carefully, as some are more adept than others at living in crevices. Some common examples include:- Creeping Rosemary
- Erigeron ‘Fleabane’
- Creeping Thyme
- Trailing lobelia
- Sweet alyssum
2. Add Water Features
Backyard waterfalls are a classic option, providing a relaxing vibe to any backyard. While sloping yards may not be suitable for conventional water features like fountains, they’re a natural fit for a waterfall. Steep slopes enable you to create an epic, dramatic wall of water. Our landscaping team can implement these hillside landscape ideas and help bring your yard to life by attaching a powered water pump for those soothing, babbling brook sounds.3. Install Steps
Living with a steep slope may be the least flattering design aspect of your home, but with some simple stone steps, these sloped garden ideas on a budget can provide easy access to every part of your land while adding personality and flair. Adding steps to your outdoor living space can be the focal point of a multi-terraced yard, which could include outdoor seating areas, different plant sections, and other eye-catching features.
4. Add a Living Space with a Multi-Tiered Deck
California hillsides can feel like a wasted opportunity — what are you supposed to do with all this steep land? But one of the best sloping garden ideas is to generate more living space by turning an eroding hillside into a multi-tiered deck. With native plants to bind the hillside together and combat erosion, adding extra levels of living space provides you with more space to entertain. It also incorporates eye-catching wood textures and materials to infuse diversity into your yard. Think about upping the drama by building your deck around a tree draped with lights.
5. Go Bold with Boulders
Incorporate some natural beauty into your yard and allow your home to blend naturally into the landscape. Including carefully-placed boulders or rock groupings can create an informal, natural look. Boulders also have a functional purpose, as heavy objects anchor portions of your sloping flower beds to the hillside. However, landscaping on a slope with rocks requires some pre-planning. Never just place a largerock on your hillside. Instead, bury the bottom third of a rock into the hillside to stabilize it.
6. Forge Connections Between Activity Areas
Gardening does not have to leave an overly formalized structure to your yard, but there must be a clear sense of order. Our team can helpdesign your outdoor space to create a logical, natural flow from one area to the next. Using dry-stack stone walls and mortared steps can join each level of your sloping garden. Each activity area, such as a loveseat, tree swing, or barbeque area, acts as a waypoint on the journey through your yard.
7. Invest in Vertical Gardening
Whether you have a little or a lot to spare, tiered vertical gardens provide stunning terraces of color throughout the spring and summer. Craft a quilt of cottage-style charm with perennials for extending the bloom and an impressive array of spring bulbs through the summer. If you’re worried about hard edges, install some trailing plants to soften them and create a more natural feel to your garden. Alternatively, go for bold and colorful designs with various flowers arranged in unique patterns.
8. Build Garden Art
Garden art elevates your yard with creativity, expression and personality. Using a slope to create garden art can serve as a visual masterpiece for your slope that’s sure to get your guests talking! For example, consider installing some boxwood hedges to build a patchwork of color and form. Add some contrast for sloping front yard landscaping ideas that stamp your tastes and personality onto your outdoor living area.
Know the Surface Texture of Your Soil
One of the first things we do when designing sloped yards in California is to measure the surface texture of the soil. The surface texture tells us much about what we are working with and what is possible. Before building anything in a sloping yard, you must know the soil texture because it will impact your landscaping capabilities. Soil texture relates to how much sand, silt, and clay is in the soil. A simple trick for determining texture is to fill a ball jar with water and fill it half full with soil. Shake it, then wait about an hour or two to examine the strata sample of your soil. Never assume you already know what type of soil you have. The Bay Area’s unique climate means there is no uniform soil type, ranging from clay to sand to loam. Our team is well-versed in the strengths and weaknesses of each type of soil and can help you determine which type you have and how to use it to your advantage.
Consider Accessibility Issues
Accessibility is a priority for any yard. Younger people may experience no problems striding up a steep slope, but can the same be said for older homeowners? If you plan to spend your leisure time in your backyard, or use it for entertaining, be conscious of how accessible different parts of your yard are. For example, would you plant roses or seasonal vegetables at the bottom of a steep slope if you knew you would need to struggle up and down it to water them? If you have no choice but to plant at the bottom of the hill, go for elegant stone steps or rustic wooden stairs. Whether you choose winding paths or standard staircases, ensure your tiers are accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
Plant According to Your Space
Soil texture and the local climate will define which plants work best in California. However, you also have to consider your soil’s moisture content. A cliffside home in San Francisco might have a steep slope with sweeping views over the Pacific, but the chances are your slope receives different amounts of sunshine. Most slopes have drier soil on top and wetter soil at the bottom. Some homes may even have alkaline soil at the bottom and acidic soil at the top. These differences will determine which plants function best at different levels. Our landscapers perform extensive testing on garden slopes to acquire as much information as possible about your yard.
Forget About the Lawn
A green, luscious lawn is one of the most common requests for landscaped yards. While sloped gardens can accommodate lawns, maintenance becomes difficult and dangerous. Mowing a lawn on a slope is difficult due to the gradient differences. Unless you have experience mowing at these angles, you will likely need to hire a professional landscaper to maintain your sloping lawn. One way around this problem is to allow the grass to grow longer by using a no-mow grass variety to provide a haven for wildlife. Ambitious homeowners could even sow wildflowers into the bare soil. For steeper slopes, consider laying wildflower turf, which already contains vibrant wildflowers.
Map Out an Attractive Destination
Hardscaping is a common landscaping practice for sloping real estate. Sloped garden ideas that incorporate an alluring destination at the end draw visitors deeper into the yard, tempting them to explore the area. The extra effort involved in reaching the end of a sloping garden means that without a destination location, you risk a neglected space. Fire pits, tree swings, and Zen gardens are just some of the destinations that can encourage visitors to take a stroll through your yard.
Mix and Match Materials
What do sloped front yard ideas on a budget all have in common? The desire to create interest. Without interest, your yard is just like any other. Our clients want dynamic yards that bring together a style that reflects them. An easy way to use a sloping piece of real estate to your advantage is to incorporate different materials. Seamless transitions provide some variation to break up the foliage and combine manmade materials with naturalistic ones. Simple garden landscape elements can generate drama and natural focal points. Try to design your yard in a way that transitions one material to another. For example, you may have one level that uses a wooden path, but as you descend deeper into the yard, the wood turns to stone before morphing into a beautiful garden.
Decide on a Theme
We believe that every yard is different. Our landscapers specialize in themes like traditional American, Southern European, and classic English styles. Themes can be twisted to suit a sloping yard while achieving the same results as a flat garden. For example, if you love Italian gardening, consider installing a terrazzo complete with tiles and terracotta colors. Alternatively, you may have a penchant for the peace and tranquility of Far Eastern gardens, complete with rock gardens, babbling brooks, bridges, stone lanterns, and water basins. Working to settle on a theme before you begin building provides direction for your design and allows you to narrow down your choices.
Consider Maintenance Issues
Maintaining a luxury garden requires a regular maintenance schedule. Consider more than just how your yard looks upon completion. Factor in what you need to do to keep it looking its best. Most estate owners choose to invest in professional maintenance services to reduce the burden, but if you plan on doing it yourself, ensure you can handle all the pruning and trimming.
Call In the Professionals
Bringing your sloped garden ideas to life requires the expertise and experience of a professional. At Petrus Landscaping, we specialize in bringing our landscaping mastery to Californians looking to achieve unforgettable luxury gardens. Become the envy of your neighborhood with an outdoor living space that will be the talk of the town. Call Petrus Landscaping to speak to one of our master designers, and let’s our Bay Area landscape design team start crafting the backyard oasis you’ve always dreamed of.
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