After planning my hillside garden area, checking the area for every possible drainage problem I could imagine and covering the grass area with heavy cardboard and eight inches of soil it was time to let the area set and firm up.

photo credit: maskroskurbits

I watered the area lightly with a mist to compact the top of the soil and let it set a week. I had it rolled to tamp in down and then it was time to put in the shrubs.

I received a great deal on shrubs. They were about $1 a piece for the left over seasonal shrubs. There were 22 shrubs in all. I was lucky and managed to get a combination of low, medium and a tall medium variety of shrubs.

Out of these shrubs. I will use 1/3 of the shrubs in the hillside garden area. By planting shrubs on the hill it will help to anchor the soil and prevent water run-off. The shrubs I have are low-maintenance and like plenty of sunshine.

I set the shrubs out in the hillside garden where I thought I might like them, checked for the size they would grow and looked at them for a day to make sure I had them in the proper location. And yes, I did move them a few times.

I also added a few large rocks and tired to visualize the perennials that I have selected for the garden area.

Next I planted the shrubs, watered them well and moved my rocks into their positions. The rocks were laid in placed in such a manner to redirect water if the problem were to arise again.

Two weeks later I added my perennials. I selected heat tolerant perennials, a few herbs and a few varieties of ground cover.

At the bottom of the hillside garden there will be a small retaining wall. For right now, I just have a row of rock to mark the garden edge. Cut rock will be placed here next spring.

This garden should prevent run off flooding and will be easy to maintain. And with time I will probably add some garden art.

NOTE: A hillside garden is very good for erosion control, water run off and excellent for small yards that may only have a hill or steep slope that may be sitting empty and unused. With planning you can turn that area into a beautiful useful area of your backyard.

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