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Hey friends today on Gardening with Creekside we are going to continue with the series ask Jenny this is where you can submit your gardening questions in the comments below and if I really think that this would be beneficial to a lot of people then we will do a whole video on answering
Your question so that because if one person has that question then odds are there are a lot of people so if you have a gardening question put it in the comments below and then we may choose that
One to do a video on today what we are going to talk about is landscaping and planning for a slope behind me so without further Ado let’s get going on Facebook Linda submitted this question she said
Love the idea of ask Jenny segment my question is for a hillside ground cover the no fuss way I need to plant heavily to keep my weeds at Bay Jenny any suggestions and then like I I thought would happen
Diane underneath said I love this question had the same slope question but for shade so that is what we are going to focus on today is how do you plant and design a slope or a hillside so that you do
Not have to worry about wash and it will still be beautiful and attractive in your garden so we’re going to focus on two areas today that here at Creek Side because if you’ve been around us I always say there is nothing flat at Creekside everything is on a slope or a hill obviously
Behind me here we have our beautiful uh Cottage Garden and I me like Jenny it’s you know end of December it’s not so beautiful no it’s not right now it has some interest but it is not of course
In all of its glory and then we’re going to head over to the nursery because we have um a larger area very still much a slope that is planted and so I want to show you that um so you can get
Get some ideas as well so first of all when you are looking at a slope you’re going to approach it really just like you do um any other kind of flower bed you need to make sure that your sun you
Know your sun conditions whether is it Linda that has Sun maybe or Diane that has shade so know your sun conditions Remember full sun is considered 6 hours or more uh shade is considered 4 hours
Or less if you’re in that four to six range of sunshine then that is considered like part sun part shade both of my flower beds are full sun but we’re going to talk about shade Gardens as well
And give you some ideas on some plants for that so know your your sun conditions and then um you’re going to want to amend your soil right whenever you plant these plants the way you typically do so
If you’ve got some compost you want to top dress with of course we always recommend you in your using your biotone start a fertilizer when you’re planting and then in my Cottage Garden style
Gardening that we do here I’m going to use annuals I’m going to use perennials and I am going to use shrubs we’re going to give you examples of all of those today here in The Cottage Garden at the
House they are predominantly perennials perennials of course come back for two or more years and then I do supplement with some annuals for some nice big pops of color and to add in some interest
When you’re thinking about a slope obviously we’ve got um to consider that on a slope one end is low and one end is hot and we’re trying to take up as maximum amount of space as we possibly can with
Plants so that we don’t have wash within the bed that is what was happening to us here at this area that is why we really kind of Terrace this whole hill so it really starts up where the chicken Co
Is so we had the chicken Co then we tered it we have hydrant Hill where we just have it filled with hydrangeas we terce again we have our garden boxes and we come down again and then the final
Slope is the Cottage Garden when you’re picking your plants because of being on a slope you don’t have to think as much about a height difference typically when we’re looking at a flat Garden
Space we want our really short plants in the front and then our taller plants in the back here at the cottage Garden because it is on a nice slope I can have plants that reach the same maximum
Height but because they’re on that slope the ones in the back are going to be taller than the ones in the front so you can kind of keep that in mind so even of course you can put your shorter things
In the front if you want to I have some beautiful banana cream too Shasta daisies here in the front of the bed and then in the back of the bed I have on each corner I have a um lemon mering baptisia
That gets you know a good height to it about in that 3ft Mark so just think of yes you can still do short to tall from front to back but even if they are all relatively the same size because
You’re on a slope you’re going to have a height difference just because of the elevation we want to mix colors and textures right we want to think of plants that probably go wider than tall but not
Necessarily of course baptisia is more upright but we do have things in here that take up a lot of footprint my dayes dayes are an amazing perennial to put on a slope in a sunny um Garden because
They will spread like get bigger pretty quickly right from year to year not an invasive kind of thing but they just get nice and big and they hold the soil because when we’re looking at a slope the
Main goal is to uh prevent us as a gardener having to walk up in that flower bed and we a lot because it is on a slope and it can be quite difficult um and sometimes quite slippery to get into
That slope depending on how steep it is the more plants that we put in the garden um especially your perennials and your shrubs that are there for years and years then the better off we are
Going to be so like I said in this bed I have got dayes I have got shadis I’ve got the babia I have got neopia red hot pokers love those and then I supplement in this garden with my annuals
Especially um I love using patunas by the steps so each season I will take um each year I will take patunas and line those steps the past year I did jazzberry and it was gorgeous because when you
Have those plants the more plants you put into the garden the more Roots you have so the less wash even even in the winter time when you don’t see a lot of top growth in this flower bed there are massive root systems running throughout this Garden here in North Carolina we typically have
Very wet Winters and we can have heavy downfall of rain which can cause wash of course on slopes this bed we have had for about four years four to five years here and only the very first season when
My plants were still young did I have some wash since then zero we just got 4 Ines of rain about like the other week I mean heavy rainfall not one little rut not one wash happened in this Garden
Because of those extensive root systems so my tip is have fun planting think about your different Heights and then plant heavily because especially when you’re using your perennials and your shrubs those are quote permanent in the flower bed and those root systems are very extensive water can
Run over but it’s not going to rut out the garden because you’ve got these great Roots holding all of your soil in and then also this has been very very key for us especially when you have a new
Flower bed and then you have to do this every you know year or 18 months is you want to use a really great mulch nice and thick because we are in the South a lot of times people will like to use the
Large pine bark nuggets as a mulch I particularly do not like that because we are on a slope and that can wash and move really really well plus it doesn’t break down as easily to give um turn into
Compost for your flower beds so whether you have kids uh you have that slope you have an 85 lb toy old German Shepherd like I do uh when when they run through it or you walk on it or big rains come
That pine bark will slide down your slope we like to use that hardwood mulch like a double hammered hardwood mulch would be really good because it almost it just holds on and it does not wash so
When you’re using your mulch you can go to your local Garden Center if they Supply mulch or like a bulk Landscape Supply Company where you can get you know you can purchase your mulch tell them that you’re on a slope and you need this mulch to stay put they will recommend to you
Which is the best mulch for that application so what we’re going to do is we are going to head over to the Garden Center because I can’t wait to show you uh this large full sun flower
Bed that is most definitely on a slope here we are at the retail Garden Center this flower bed behind me is definitely on a steep slope this is the bank that is the back of the garden and then
Obviously behind us uh we have have lots of Woods back there to my right this way is the pergola and of course all of that shopping area we developed this bed a couple of years ago uh we actually did
It did a video filmed a video for Laura of garden answer uh this was uh she was asking some folks to do some special uh guest appearances and so we did this area so it’s affectionally called here at
The Garden Center Lara’s bed so that’s how the name of this area is Lara’s bed when we filmed the video for Lara there was absolutely no plants in here whatsoever and I think as you can see from
The footage when we were shooting it was nothing but raw red North Carolina red clay there was Zero organic matter in that soil very much on a slope it was very Steep and still is and so what we did
Uh was just filled it full of various shrubs we planted this bed in two uh phases shall we we did the shrubs in the fall and then the following spring then we came back and added in lots of
Perennials so in this bed in the back we have got some jazz hands Laura pedum nice beautiful evergreen shrubs they’re going to be my bigger ones we did move them to the back to give some height in here we have got highres I’ve got three different panicle hydrangeas through here I’ve got
A Perfecto Mundo a zelas in here as well another great evergreen shrub gives me spring flowers right so then we kind of worked those in there and then we did also down here at the bottom we
Did some scentlandia because that is at the bottom of the hill a lot of times it will be your wetter area because that’s where the water sheds so with the stent landia it loves those wet conditions I
Tend to like I said go more towards a cottage look right so I have various colors and shapes and textures that are just kind of there’s not a formality to it you can absolutely plant a hill in
A formal U manner if you want to it’s just going to be the structure and how you lay your plants out so if you wanted to use boxwoods to outline the the bed you absolutely could do that box Woods
Across the bottom would be beautiful or at the top it really doesn’t matter you could do the sides you could enclose the whole thing really you’re only limited by your imagination like I said then the next spring we came back here with tons of proven winners perennials so I’ve got summerific
Hibiscus in here I have got gorgeous manard that absolutely thrives in this flower bed they have been very happy and spread and got nice and big Gorgeous Flowers I have got dayes in here I have a little bit of everything baptisia you name it I can’t emphasize this enough when you are planting
A slope you want to put plants in there whether they are animals perennials or shrubs or all the above you’re going to plant heavily obviously right when we you can do it all at one time if
You want to or you can do it like we did here and you can do it in phases as soon as you begin to put plants in and you get some nice thick mulch in you are going to be amazed and so excited with
How your slope is transforming right before your very eyes now both of the gardens here of course are going to be um in those Sun conditions we talked about that Diane has a shade garden so
What are some ideas of plants that you could use in your shade garden so you could use boxwoods a great idea because like Sprinter boxwoods can do sun or shade there you go nice Evergreen structure on that Florida Sunshine I love Florida Sunshine that is a great shrub that is going to
Be an evergreen nice bright chartreuse color so it looks beautiful in a Shea garden and it has that Evergreen color to it you can um do more shade loving aelas stunning you could do Rota dendrons right and all of those are going to be Evergreen obviously this is going to be dependent
On your zones so if you of course I know Southern plants because I’m in North Carolina if you’re in a colder climate kind of take those ideas maybe you use some ailia maybe use some Lila um and
Those may be more sun conditions um but think about you know what are some shade loving shrubs and incorporate them into the garden I would use a lot of autumn ferns or ferns in general Autumn ferns particularly because they are evergreen so even in the winter time for us I still have
Structure from my Autumn ferns hbor Linton roses my gosh that would be gorgeous on a slope right tuck those in they give you beautiful um l late winter flowers hostas would be gorgeous right and they spread as far as like their Mounds just get bigger and bigger so every year you just get
Bigger and bigger hostes those would be beautiful um lamian would be a nice kind of ground cover the pink shab from Proven Winners it does sun or shade we sell it as an annual but for us it
Is a perennial I have it in my shea Garden as a ground cover and it would be a beautiful addition because it’s a nice silver and green together so you could dot that in even in the winter time you
Would have structure there um let’s see any of those different ukuras or ukuras either one of those would be great in a shade garden so you’re just going to take those plants that you typically
Would use if your garden was flat and you’re just going to incorporate them up on a hill when you’re planting on a slope it really don’t overthink it y’all right so so you’re going to have a slope you
Want the back end of your plant not to be buried by the hill not to be buried underneath the soil on the slope your front end obviously your roots going to be a little bit more exposed just bring
In some soil or some compost and Shore up around the front of that and then when you bring your mulch you will have it all nice and spread out just make sure that you don’t bury the crown of
The plant whether it’s an annual or perennial or a shrub with too much mulch and too much um soil but it really um is not very different planting on a slope as it is planting on a level or semile
Level um level spot in your garden right so just have fun it is late December it is cold it is a very crisp chilly day here in North Carolina but that doesn’t mean that that gardening stops right
Maybe you are going to be covered in tons of snow right now and for the rest rest of the foreseeable future or maybe you’re like me and you’re in a warmer Zone and you can still get out and garden
But maybe it’s just cold and you just want to stay snuggled in this is the perfect time to plan your garden start dreaming start looking start um go ahead and subscribe to some gardening magazines my favorite magazines to subscribe to um are garden gate and fine gardening those are two
Great great resources that tell you about plants that are coming out on the market they do lots of beautiful photos of other people’s Gardens so that you can look at that they will have you know articles on Natives and beneficial insects it’s very informative so those are the two magazines
That I get that I love Pinterest Pinterest can be uh a black hole especially just depending on what your topic is but in gardening absolutely go on pinest and start looking at ideas so if you have a
Shade area or a Sun area you can type in um shade garden on slope right or you could just put in shade garden and all these pictures are going to come up just keep in mind that depending on where
That image comes from you may not be able to find the exact same plants but that’s the inspiration look at the colors the textures how they have the plants laid out and then go to your local Garden
Center or know kind of get start researching what plants will grow well in your hardiness Zone so dream and plan and plant and then depending on where you are your hardiness Zone uh start early right when you start the seasons start to change from Winter into spring then that’s when you want
To be out there planting those plants especially for us in the South we’re more concerned about the heat of the summer than the cold of the winter as far as like I want to get those plants in the
Ground and establish before the heat of the summer hits so we can absolutely maybe we we take January you know February off beginning early March is a great time to start putting those plants in the ground I hope this has been fun I hope this has been informative I hope it’s
Been helpful if you have some common gardening questions or a problem in your your garden that you want some help with just put them in the comments below and we will take a look at them
As always thanks so much for gring with Creekside y’all have a great day we’ll see you in the next video bye [Music] friends first of all when you are looking at a slope you’re going to approach
It really just like you do um any other kind of flower bed you need to make sure that your sun you know your sun conditions whether is it Linda that has Sun maybe or Diane that has shave so know your
Sun conditions Remember full sun is considered 6 hours or more uh shade is considered 4 hours or less have fun planting think about your different Heights and then plant heavily because especially when you’re using your perennials and your shrubs those are quote permanent in the flower bed and
Those root systems are very extensive water can run over but it’s not going to rut out the garden because you’ve got these great Roots holding all of your soil in and then also this has been very very key for us especially when you have a new flower bed and then you have
To do this every you know year or 18 months is you want to use a really great mulch nice and thick
42 Comments
Jenny, I am trying to landscape a slope on the side of my driveway. I want to plant flowering trees. Also, when the wind blows all of the trees are in the line of movement. Do you think trees on a slope look weird? I Would really like to know your thoughts on this. I want to get rid of the grass and mulch and compost. Thank you.
Hey Jenny, I live in Zone 8a, Piedmont of South Carolina. What are your thoughts on Agapanthus in a full sun cottage garden? I’ve been thinking about trying, but I don’t see you mentioning this perennial and that causes me to pause each season. Thank you
I like the recap of the most important principles at the end! Thoughtfully placed urns, containers, and garden art can also help slow down runoff ⛲
Very helpful and empowering, Jenny. Thank you!
Very informative!!
Just thought I would share something I just learned:
On a plant tag, when it lists the sun/ shade, what ever is lists first, is what the plant prefers! How did I get this old & just now learn this!😂😂😂
I'm in need of drought tolerant plants for slopes I have some banana plants there but I'm wanting something different and beautiful in their place. The slope is beside my driveway and at the side of the road and is full sun. Any suggestions???
Great subjects to address during winter. Drought tolerance is always on my mind. And I always forget to compliment you for mixing in things like the bicycling frog or birdhouse or other little interesting stone animals. It really makes a garden unique and special to your own home. Thank you, for sharing knowledge on slopes.
Awesome question ! I didn’t think of it being more moist at the bottom of the slope. Hence why the butterfly bush was not happy. Thank you Jenny.
That red clay is shocking! I grew up with red clay in East Texas but am in Tennessee now. You forget how sensationally red it is 😂
Hi Jenny, planning for late winter- early spring project. Live in NC and want to landscape the front of my house. Receives all day sun. Looking for high impact, drought tolerant plants. What would you suggest?
Great topic to review I to have a hillside garden picked up some great tips for improvement.
Carex and hakonechloa for shady slopes!!
We have a good size steep slope from our back yard to the dock. It borders a salt water tidal creek. It came wooded. A lot of native mountain laurel, hollies, oaks. We planted low growing juniper at the top of the slope, some azaleas, native grass for shorelines. It faces west so the shore gets lots of sun, but a good portion gets mostly shade from the trees. We have tried to tame it, but haven’t been too successful. Originally I wanted nice terraced gardens. Now 30 years later we are just satisfied something is growing.
I would love for you to talk about plants that work in sun or shade. I have some hard to plant areas because they are shade most of the year, but they also get afternoon summer sun (shade plants burn in this area). I’m zone 8a. Boxwoods, Nandina what else works in these places?
Jenny did you used to be a school teacher? Great job on this video!
I really like this type of video. Helps me make my plans for the growing season. I have a steep slope down to a small creek that I am trying to tame. I planted some green liriope because it is a tough, semi evergreen plant that spreads by rhizomes. I am hoping it will choke out weeds and look nice summer and winter. Also trying creeping thyme. Fingers crossed! ❤
Thanks for the info
مسيرة موفقة🎍🎍🎍🎍🎍🎍🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🖐🖐🖐🖐🎄🎄🎄🎄
I have a lot of mild to moderate slopes. Before I planted ground covers (lamium, ajuga), runoff was a problem. You have much more water movement, so you really know what it takes:)
Wonderful series, thank you! You are an awesome teacher. Great facts, enthusiastic presentation, and a review. Was waiting for the quiz at the end!
Question please – when is a good time and process to divide plants? Examples: Hostas, day lillies, daisies, iris. Growing beautifully, but spreading too much. Thank you for your knowledge sharing and entertainment.
Ich habe einen steilen Hang mit Baumstämmen befestigt und die entstandenen Terrassen mit Hostas, Farnen und Seggen bepflanzt….sieht herrlich aus…..Grüße aus Sachsen
Very informative and fun! Always love to listen to what you teach!
Ask Jenny: This may not be worth an entire video, but where did you get the information on October Magic Camellia’s being ok in full sun? Your white shi-shi are gorgeous and I’d love to try one of the other ones in my garden but can’t find the information.
I just had a new wooden fence installed in the back garden. my question is what should I do to keep soil from the bottom of the fence. I am think some sort of landscape rock but am just not sure. Any suggestions.
I planted 14 arborvitae , 10 have done well. 4 have died.They are planted in good drainage areas. Wondering what I could have done wrong. I live 7b East Tennessee.
I’m also considering a dry creek bed as my backyard slopes from the house to the fence line as well as from right to left. 🤦🏼♀️ Yea me!!!🤣😎✌🏻
I use hostas in my very steep slope garden. I rake off the dead leaves in the spring, fertilize and let it go. It is absolutely gorgeous!
Thank you, Jenny!
I have a shade garden–alley, really–on one side w/ a gentle slope & full sun on the other side, but w/ a pretty steep slope. My biggest problem is planting the steep slope (I'm disabled & cannot terrace it myself, nor can I afford to pay others to). I am blessed w/ a couple dear friends who will dig holes for me (they don't want me to slip & topple down the hill as I did once before), as long as I'm the one who plants the plants.
Anyway, I have blueberries & Mahonia across the top of the hill (apparently, no one told the Mahonia it wasn't supposed to like full sun–it's been lovin' that spot for decades & has grown huuuge!). I would love to add some ground covers/shorter plants that can thrive on an unterraced, steep slope in VA 7A…er, 7B (still adjusting, lol). Any suggestions?
Again, thank you, Jenny! 😊
I need this! Thank you
I would be excited to see a video on planting a low maintenance, but beautiful, full sun hell strip.
Very informative but wish she touched the issue of placing plants , trees or shrubs into the holes on a slope. Unless I missed it. If I want to keep lets say the tree in a vertical position then one side of the root ball might not be deep enough and the other side too deep. And what about the drainage. The top area of my slope stays much dryer than the bottom of my slope so I have to consider this when placing my plants too. But love the suggestions and ideas Jenny.
Hi Jenny, my backyard has a nice slope so I enjoyed this segment. I have been a little concerned about the front of the plant soil depth so was relieved to hear that it doesnt need to be completely covered. Iḿ realizing more and more that out here in the Ca, bay area of San Francisco we are more alike than I ever knew. We dont have the humidity that you guys have but the milder winters and the summer heat are similar. I planted cool flowers for the first time this fall and they are looking great. I love your cheery videos, Merry Christmas!!
You should do a video on how you choose what annuals to put in flower beds. You could cover color schemes, height differences, and plant habits.
Love that you're doing this Ask Jenny segment! Very clever! Do we ask questions here or email them to you? I have a question I need some guidance on! Merry Christmas to y'all! 🎄
Thanks Jenny
This is exactly what I need for 2 areas. I was thinking of a retaining wall for one area with full sun.
Thank you for your reply to my earlier question. My Ask Jenny question is, do you have any advice for those of us over 50 on how to avoid injuries? Two months ago, I injured my arm using a shovel to plant a shrub. This has never happened before, and now I am unable to do the many things I had planned doing to get ready for spring 😔. I know that as we age, we have to be careful. I'm just hoping you may have some suggestions that can help with prevention. I love gardening so much, and the thought of reinjuring my arm scares me. Thank you in advance for any advice you can give. ☃️
Great info!
I have a steep slope. Almost too steep to maintain. Ended up putting in gabion walls to create terracing. Beautiful to look at and easier to plant!
My only problem with my hill , is rocks . I think the first owner of this house threw every rock in the whole 2 acres on that hill side .. 😫😫😫
And I mean tons of rock , big & small ones . There might be like 3-4 inches of soil on top of them all .. drives me crazy trying to plant anything & I don’t own equipment to go in and dig out all of those rocks and make a flat place or a level place to even start digging holes. I would have to truck in tons of top soil & I just don’t have the budget for all of that. Plus there is a ditch line at the bottom of the hill side that has to be maintained because that’s where all the water runs. I tried to work with it for a few years when we moved here , but it was just so much work & since I have the green thumb & hubs won’t do it , I gave up !! But I did get some trees to take & it looks ok , but not what I wanted . I wanted like what you have a little hill , then a flat , the more hill , and another flat . Maybe one day I will be able to get it looking better .. but for now I just have to weed eat around the trees 😢
To prepare for spring annual planting, could you cover which annuals are better in containers and which are better in the ground? (Example – Jazzberry Putunias?)