Terraces - How to Make Gardens on Steep Slopes Use terraces to make flower and vegetable gardening possible on steep slopes, or simply to add interest to your landscape. Terraces can create several mini-gardens in your backyard. On steep slopes, terracing can make planting a garden possible. Terraces prevent erosion by shortening the long slope into a series of shorter, more level steps. This allows heavy rains to soak into the soil rather than run off and cause erosion.
Numerous materials are available for building terraces.
These materials will last for years. While there has been some concern about using these treated materials around plants, studies by Texas AM University and the Southwest Research Institute concluded that these materials are not harmful to gardens or people when used as recommended. Other materials for terraces include bricks, rocks, concrete blocks, and similar masonry materials. Some masonry materials are made specifically for walls and terraces and can be more easily installed by a homeowner than other materials such as field stone and brick. Most stone or masonry products tend to be more expensive than wood.