What to do with a sloping front yard?
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Anonymous
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The previous owners of our house were obviously gardeners, we are not, and our outdoor space shows it. The main issue at the moment is the front yard, because it's very visible to the neighbors and passers by. My goal is to do something low maintenance without being ugly. The front yard is maybe 15'x20' and very sloped, and we live on a busy street, so it serves no functional purpose (I wouldn't let kids play there or anything). I definitely don't want grass because it would be a pain to mow. I had kind of a crazy idea to do something visually appealing with rocks or bricks, but haven't figured out exactly what that would look like. I'm thinking about just filling the whole space with a ground cover. Some suggestions I've gotten for this are: vinca, creeping sedum, and golden moneywort.
Any thoughts? |
Anonymous
| Juniper can also be an option... |
Anonymous
| How much sun does it get? What is there right now? |
Anonymous
I'd say a lot? There are no neighboring trees providing shade or anything. Right now there are some box hedges and then a bunch of bushes that seem pretty random to me. And mulch around everything. |
Anonymous
| Vinca |
Anonymous
| I have a slope that hosts both vinca and juniper, planted around some individual plants, including lavender, St. John's Wort, hostas and azaleas. It needs minimal weeding but has taken several years to fill in. (Maybe you can just plant more individual plants in the beginning?) |
Anonymous
| You could also consider putting up a retaining wall to make a flat part, then outside the wall where there is still considerable slope put ground cover. Obviously more expensive but it allows you to use at least part of your front yard. |
Anonymous
| Open a topic in gardenweb ''landscape design'' and ask for advice. They have some awesome landscape designers posting. |
Anonymous
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You want 'bay scaping' to prevent erosion and run off from the slope, and if you live in DC, RiverSmart Homes will design and install it for you on the way cheap side (like $100) due to grant money available to them.
https://doee.dc.gov/service/riversmart-homes-bayscaping |
Anonymous
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More on bayscaping: https://www.fws.gov/chesapeakebay/bayscapes/bswhy/bs-why.html
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