Looking for opinions and suggestions for our problem embankment.
Hello fellow gardeners. New to this forum. We recently moved from Maryland (2.5 acres) to North Georgia (1/4 acre HOA). Our new home has a fairly steep embankment with 2 large Sugar Maples on it at the top southern side. To the east is a mature oak, maple, and birch green space (not ours). To the west is our 3-story high house. So the bank gets near zero summer time direct sunlight. The bank is approximately 20' wide (tall) by 50' long, rising about 6 feet across the 20' width. It is mostly sand. In some areas, below the sand at about 15" or so deep are sandstone ledges. Many roots from the maple trees protrude on top of the soil. It has been neglected for years. The previous owners planted some ground cover junipers, a couple of hostas and some liriope at the bottom. They just covered the rest with pine straw mulch. So the conditions are dry and dark, with very little loam and stone beds underneath in spots. We have removed most of the junipers but removing the Sugar maples isn't an option. There is a stone dry bed for gutter overflow water in it too. There is a privacy fence cornering the bank to the east and south. Two photos below.
We had beautiful gardens in Maryland and want the same for this space. As it is, it's an eyesore to us. In the first year, we planted a few more Hostas. Then added a pink dogwood and a First Ghost maple along the eastern fence line. We also planted fuscia Azaleas high on the bank that will grow to about 5' and form a 15' hedge. When planting, we replaced about 50% of the sand with bagged garden soil and mulched them with pine straw. Keeping the Azaleas happy over the hot summer was a challenge. I had to water them every other day or they'd start showing signs of stress.
We are coming up on springtime and have plans to fill the area with shade loving plants: hostas, ferns, bleeding hearts, astilbe, camellia, bugbane, spigelia, more azaleas. We will eventual add more plants until completely full. Our plan is to amend the soil as we plant by putting into each hole a mix of biochar, horse manure compost, and bagged garden soil. Once we have these plants in the ground, we'll add more compost/biochar on top of remaining bare areas.
We also plan to install drip irrigation throughout using 1/2" tubing with 1 gph drippers every 9". The irrigation system will have two timed zones so we can stay within the flow rate available from our public water source.
The roots from the Sugar Maples are a big problem. There are too many to cut without damaging the trees. And one of the trees is actually our neighbor's. Our plan is to add a thin layer of garden soil over the exposed roots and plant small leaf periwinkle to cover and then continue to mulch with pine straw until the periwinkle takes over (if it will).
We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.
Hello fellow gardeners. New to this forum. We recently moved from Maryland (2.5 acres) to North Georgia (1/4 acre HOA). Our new home has a fairly steep embankment with 2 large Sugar Maples on it at the top southern side. To the east is a mature oak, maple, and birch green space (not ours). To the west is our 3-story high house. So the bank gets near zero summer time direct sunlight. The bank is approximately 20' wide (tall) by 50' long, rising about 6 feet across the 20' width. It is mostly sand. In some areas, below the sand at about 15" or so deep are sandstone ledges. Many roots from the maple trees protrude on top of the soil. It has been neglected for years. The previous owners planted some ground cover junipers, a couple of hostas and some liriope at the bottom. They just covered the rest with pine straw mulch. So the conditions are dry and dark, with very little loam and stone beds underneath in spots. We have removed most of the junipers but removing the Sugar maples isn't an option. There is a stone dry bed for gutter overflow water in it too. There is a privacy fence cornering the bank to the east and south. Two photos below.
We had beautiful gardens in Maryland and want the same for this space. As it is, it's an eyesore to us. In the first year, we planted a few more Hostas. Then added a pink dogwood and a First Ghost maple along the eastern fence line. We also planted fuscia Azaleas high on the bank that will grow to about 5' and form a 15' hedge. When planting, we replaced about 50% of the sand with bagged garden soil and mulched them with pine straw. Keeping the Azaleas happy over the hot summer was a challenge. I had to water them every other day or they'd start showing signs of stress.
We are coming up on springtime and have plans to fill the area with shade loving plants: hostas, ferns, bleeding hearts, astilbe, camellia, bugbane, spigelia, more azaleas. We will eventual add more plants until completely full. Our plan is to amend the soil as we plant by putting into each hole a mix of biochar, horse manure compost, and bagged garden soil. Once we have these plants in the ground, we'll add more compost/biochar on top of remaining bare areas.
We also plan to install drip irrigation throughout using 1/2" tubing with 1 gph drippers every 9". The irrigation system will have two timed zones so we can stay within the flow rate available from our public water source.
The roots from the Sugar Maples are a big problem. There are too many to cut without damaging the trees. And one of the trees is actually our neighbor's. Our plan is to add a thin layer of garden soil over the exposed roots and plant small leaf periwinkle to cover and then continue to mulch with pine straw until the periwinkle takes over (if it will).
We appreciate your feedback and suggestions.
![IMG_20260117_151525484[1].jpg](/data/attachments/112/112503-45a135c9c2446bb8634b67391b2f4442.jpg)
![IMG_20260117_151514190[1].jpg](/data/attachments/112/112504-472776c62acae130bf1ad326c7a6a5c7.jpg)
