Gardening on a hill, bank & steep slope

[Cassie K]

Often when we choose a site for growing a garden, typically we think of flat land surface, but with some innovative ways, you can utilize your sloping hill or bank for growing space even if it's steep.
For example, using bricks, stone, rocks, wood, or other materials can create barriers to hold plants and soil in place. Because the space is sloped, soil will wash down, thus it is crucial to create those barriers to hold soil in place around the plants.
Many people will grow trees or crawling plants like crawling phlox to cover their hill space, but certainly a large vegetable and fruit garden is possible as you can see in the examples in the pictures below.


flikr



photo link



schuttelumber.com

kleinslandscaping.com

pinterest


squarefoot.creatingforum.com


photo source

meganmorrisblog.com

lushome.com


The Sage Butterfly


-Cassie K
Original post @ Gardening on a hill, bank & steep slope

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Very nice. I have seen a few of the examples live .

 

[Marck]

I agree that terracing is the best option for any type of interactive gardening on a slope. If there is to be frequent interactions, such as planting, harvesting, irrigating, or close observation, then a level area for walking and work is essential.

Of course some garden slopes are mostly intended to present a naturalistic effect and be admired from a distance.
In that case, a slope should be largely maintained in its original state. Perhaps with a few discrete paths or stair steps placed for safe access during occasional necessary maintenance.