Evening star., 1951-01-21
Coping With SIoped Lot
Suggestions on What to Grow on Hillside
And How to Handle Drainage Problem
By W. H. Younemon
Earda, Edikax

Eolfof
viding a substantial foundation
which will carry the load without
danger of buckling, or turning.
The rocks should be slanted into
the bank and of sufficient size that
they are thoroughly anchored in
the soil. For planting purposes
the soil should be enriched with
humus-peatmoss. compost, or
any other available material. The
rocks, being slanted in the bank.
carry moisture to the roots of the
growing plants. A suitable
shrubby plant oftentimes is planted
as the rocks are laid but this is
best done in the early spring. If
the wall is laid during the summer
or fall it is better to delay plant
ing until a more favorable season.
The sunny, dry wall may be
planted with moss phloX. small
bulbous plants, candytuft, coton-
easter, some of the smaller
broom's, heather and heath, sun
rose, box sandmyrtle, etc. There
are a considerable number of
perennials to select from and their
choice will depend somewhat upon
the size of the wall as well as
the moisture in the soil and the
interest of the gardener in main
tanning a long season of bloom.
Ferns for Shady Spots.
The shady rock wall can be just
as interesting as the sunny, al
though no doubt the density OF
the shade will be the limiting
factor. A north~slope under heavy
tree shade may be limited to ferns
and the early spring Towering
bulbs and flowers. The Carpa-
THAN harebell is a favorite of
many as is the trailing arbutus.
The creeping hollygrape (Mahonia
repans) is a good subject for such
a situation. Where the shade is
less dense one might consider the
daphnes, box sandmyrtle, azaleas,
bayberry, etc. This is not a COM
plete list, it is intended to show
the possibilities of such a garden
in a rock wall. There is an al
most endless list of things which
may be used in such a situation
provided the owner is interested
in maintaining a vertical garden.
The third solution, and in most
cases it should be the third choice,
is a grass covered slope. It goes
without saying that the moving
is Sizable chore after the grass
is established. The slope generally
speaking is likely to be on the
dry side and grasses that are
tolerant of dry soils, such as
Chewings fescue and Alta fescue
are probably the best, but they
will not thrive in a soil lacking
in humus and plant food. Thin
clay soils are likely to be too poor
for them. Theoretically, creeping
red feScue, especially the Ilahee
red fescue, should provide the best
cover, but in good soil almost
any of the commonly recommend
ed grasses will stool sufficiently
to hold the soil once they are
established. On a moist shady
slope. the Danish bluegrass, Poa
trivialis, should be the best for
this area.
In sowing grass seed on a steep
slope one of the major problems
is to keep the soil intact until the
seed sprouts and starts growing.
One of the better methods is to
SOW the seed and then cover the
slope with old burlap sacking. The
sacking may be held in place with
long wire staples and the grass
will grow through the burlap so
that may be left undisturbed, as
i will soon disintegrate. The wire
staples, if firmly pushed into the
ground, may be let to rust away
The choice of the three treat
ments for the steep terrace will
obviously rest with the lot owner,
depending upon his interest in
gardening and the amount of
work that he can devote to the
care of the slope. The shrub or vine
covered slope will entail less effort
than the other two. The dry rock
wall offers that most gardening
interest, although the initial ex-
pense is the largest. The grass
covered slope needs no comment
from the writer as to the amount
of rare reo,Iired