Tips for Hillside Landscaping

Although landscaping hillsides can be very challenging it is something that can be done by the homeowner or a professional lawn service.
By landscaping your hillside it can decrease the areas of your yard that need maintained by reducing the need to mow the grass.
This can help with the safety issue also as mowing this area could be dangerous.
To add appeal to the area you can use bushes, terraces, steps, and landscape rocks.
In addition to adding appeal and value to your home, they also can help to prevent soil erosion.
For attractive ground cover choose flowers and shrubs but there is one challenge with using these for ground cover.
The water used to hydrate them will run downhill so it makes irrigation not as effective.
To help the ground cover survive since the water will run down hill before it has time to soak into the ground you should choose plants and shrubs that are drought tolerant.
These plants and shrubs have deep root systems.
The deep root systems will help keep the soil in place, retain moisture, and prevent erosion.
If you decide to plant trees instead of using ground cover this will require more consideration to ensure you choose the right trees.
One type of tree that would be good for hillside landscapes are conifers, which are evergreen trees like the fir, spruce, pine, or other cone-bearing trees.
These trees have a sturdy root system and will enable them to survive on hillsides.
This is true even if their root system is partially exposed and the soil conditions are not ideal.
A natural to use on hillsides are rocks.
Having a rock garden can add visual interest to the hillside without any concerns about the levels of moisture.
They can also slow water as it runs downhill to create less of a runoff.
If you decide to incorporate flowers in the rock garden, they can receive the benefits of the runoff water and add appeal to the rocks.
You can also build terraces into the hillside to help prevent soil erosion and retain moisture.
One option to create terraces is to build retaining walls.
You can plant flowers and shrubs behind the retaining wall if the soil there is flattened.
To help maintain additional moisture retention put mulch around the plants and shrubs.
When you are using plants and shrubs, you need to make sure that you have access to maintain them.
To make it easier to tend to the plants and shrubs you should have a set of landscaping stairs going up the hillside.
You can create a natural look by using large flat rocks.
You can also use brick pavers or landscaping timbers to create stairs.