How to Landscape a Sloped Yard

Landscaping your yard plays a massive role in enhancing your home scenery and property value. However, some homeowners incur hardships, mainly when their property is on a sloped yard or land. Sloping refers to any deviation in the grading or incline of a piece of land, and the steeper it is, the harder landscaping becomes.

Working on sloping yards takes prolonged periods in comparison to relatively flat ones due to the following factors:
• Navigation of contractors and their heavy machinery is hindered
• Gravity drags plants and mulches downwards

If your home is on a hillside, we’ve highlighted some creative practices you can incorporate to mitigate the effects of the slope.

Mulching

Mulching is a common practice due to its affordability and ease of execution. Gorilla hair mulch is the most effective since its fibrous texture holds the mulch together. Adding jute netting increases traction and prevents the top dressing from sliding away.

Overall, mulching can be an effective tool for decorating a sloped yard, helping to control erosion, retaining moisture, and suppressing weeds.

Cultivation

Plants can significantly improve the aesthetic value of your yard. Some of the key factors you need to consider while deciding on what plants to grow in your sloping yard include the following:
• Roots should be deep and fibrous
• Wide and rapid spreading from a single root ball
• Low maintenance

Grasses, such as Muhlenbergia rigens, and ground cover plants, such as lantanas, are some common viable options.

Retaining Walls

A common and effective way to landscape a sloped yard is by incorporating a retaining wall. This structure holds back soil and prevents erosion in sloping grounds. Depending on your budget, the wall structure can be either wooden or masonry. Masonry walls are more costly due to the materials needed, such as building blocks, concrete, and steel reinforcements. Still, they have a longer lifespan and better weather resistance than lumber ones.

Generally, retaining walls control erosion, create flat areas, add visual interest, and increase usable space.

Combination of the Above

You can combine several landscaping techniques to achieve the most significant impact in beautifying your sloped yard. Each of the above methods may not satisfy your aesthetic levels, thus, complimenting them with other practices may produce better aesthetic results.

As always, Baileys Landscaping is here for your erosion control needs.