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Garden Decor & Landscaping Tips Articles |
Plan Ahead for Landscaping On a SlopeIf you'll be doing your landscaping on a slope, though, you'll have to put in a little extra effort to make sure your project turns out perfect. Yards that have a grade of more than four percent are going to give you some headaches if you don't circumvent some maintenance issues that come up when landscaping on a slope. Some Common Problems The biggest problem with landscaping on a slope is erosion. Rain can literally wash away topsoil, exposing the roots of plants and causing them to die. A good solution to keeping your ground where it belongs and not running down the slope is to level up the grade. Build some decorative yet functional retaining walls out of stone, four by fours or railway ties, or go for a terracing in your landscaping on a slope. When building your retaining walls, don't make them too high and stagger several of them to create multiple levels for plants, shrubs or pathways. A low level of water infiltration is a second problem that can be an issue for landscaping on a slope. Since water from rainfalls or sprinkler systems will run down the grade, the water doesn't have a chance to soak into the ground and nourish plants or shrubs you may have wanted to use to decorate your project. Plants and greenery at the bottom of the slope will receive too much water and they'll end up dying off as well. If you're not going to use terracing or retaining walls, you may want to consider adding peat or sphagnum moss to the ground to help it absorb rainfall like a sponge and hold the water longer. You'll also want to dig a dry creek bed for drainage as well. Another problem with landscaping on a slope is adding fertilizer or mulch, because you'll run into the same problem as you did with water - everything trickles down to the bottom and you'll have no nutrients at the top of your slope and far too many at the bottom. Consider lawn mowing when you're planning to do some landscaping on a slope - an overturned mower can be very dangerous. One great solution to reducing your fertilizer and mowing needs when you're landscaping on a slope is to remove the grass completely and replace it with low-maintenance groundcovers or ornamental grasses. You'll be making your yard look lusher, and you'll also be taking away maintenance issues now, while you're planning your landscaping on a slope, than have to deal with the headaches that may come later on down the road. |
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