Problems with Hill!

I love yarrow cause its roots go underground like crab grass but it give you pretty flowers...it is pretty drought resistant too once it has had a year of decent water...the white kind seems to be hardier than the yellow etc.

Call your local botanical gardens-well, theirs, since it's their area. Either them or the zoo has a landscaping "fair" each year full of ideas for landscaping w/the most drought-resistant & pretty things. Or call a nursery-not Lowes or Home Depot but a Mom & Pop place, they'll have more experience & less "filling a job slot". Ask them what kind of fast-growing ground cover they could plant to stop the erosion. It's not grass like they probably want, but if they just want their house & dirt to stop washing toward the neighbor, that's probably what's going to work best.

My parents house is also on a hill that keeps dissolving. Their backyard has gone from about 10 feet to about 5 in the last 10 years which may not seem like much but it is. Since they live on the coast they use beach grass with deep roots, not lawn grass which has shallow roots. The contracter also planted a ground cover on the entire hill which also has deep roots. It sounds as if it's time for a professional and it will be expensive but in the long run it will be worth it. Another thing is that they really need to be sure they will be covered due to a landslide. Usually that is not generally something insurance will cover and my parents have to pay extra. I feel like even with all the things done to prevent erosion at my parents house they will have nothing more than their deck and no back yard in 10 more years so the sooner they can get the erosion problem solved the better.

This sounds like a contractor problem plus a landscaping problem. I'd go back to the original home builder and discuss the problem. Sounds to me that a basic home design would have included ways to avoid this problem, or they could be liable.

You'll probably need a series of retaining walls, minimally, plus then some landscaping. The plants help hold the earth in place.

I have 2 ideas -
one is labor intensive, and that is to terrace the hill. If you cut layers/ levels and flatten them out, and border them with either rocks or wood ties, that should do a lot to solve the problem.

Another idea is to plant something all over the hill to stop the erosion. I don't know what plant to recommend, but there are ground covers that will spread quickly and help hold the soil in place. If it's really dry, maybe something used in xeriscaping like ice plant would work. Maybe a landscaper could recommend what to use.

Good luck!!

I think the last gal was right. Sounds like they need a retaining wall. Contact a landscaper - or Home Depot if they want to do it themselves.

Good luck!
C.

So, have you ever thought about terracing? Its a great way to still include the hill in the landscape, but keep it from running away. Talk to a professional landscaper, or someone like that, it will take a little work, but it should help the problem. And you'll be able to plant grass on each level, or a garden, or whatever. Hope this helps!

If the hill is steep then terracing is going to be your best bet. Other things that can be done are to plant sod, or juniper bushes.
Stephanie L.

Having a hill behind your house is supposed to be good feng shui. I lived in a place like this in Michigan and we terraced that hill. We put in inexpensive 4X4's making beds, all up the hill. In total, I think we had about 9 beds (3 across and 3 high), then we filled the beds with great soil and had an amazing perrenial garden. I am not sure if that will work for you, as it will depend on how rocky it is, and how high the altitude is, but you could probably use lavender at a minimum as a planting - there are many varieties if you needed some interest.

This might be too much work, or too much expense, I am not sure, but we never had a problem with erosion this way.

Of course the expensive solution is to bring in a contractor to build a retaining wall.

Our new construction house has a crazy retaining wall behind it - it was made by putting steel rods in the ground, and then putting plywood between the rods, and pouring cement into the plywood walls, then removing the plywood - voila - a cement wall. I don't know how long this would hold on a hill though. Ours is only a foot high or so.

I don't usually respond as lots of moms have more "mom" experience. But I do have a geoscience background that may be appropriate on this one.

Doing groundcovers and planting was a good step, but it sounds like your parents may need a retaining wall built to hold in the soil until some plants get started. Warning - that can be expensive. But a system of flattish, nearly horizontal terraces, held up by retaining walls with proper drainage is the solution. He may need to hire a geotech engineer or at least an experienced landscaping company as it involves quite a bit of moving dirt. Depending on hill and scale, heavy equipment may be needed. But he should know that if dirt is washing down off his property, he may be liable or out of compliance with county/city regulations. A small wall can be done by hand - out of rocks, lumber, concrete blocks, etc. Make sure it has some drainage system though. If the hill is over 15 feet or so, a professional installation is probably needed. Good luck.

It sounds like there may be a need for a retaining wall. I am not an expert in this area by any means, but my mom works in the masonry and stonework area and this idea comes from what I have heard her talk about in the past. Good luck!

Make it a GREAT day!

S.