photo credit: brewbooks

But this year our abundant rain created quite a problem and when the drain directly across the hill filled with rock from a rockslide my yard turned into a waterfalls.

Four and one half hours of water crossing the road and bringing rocks, branches, dirt, garbage and anything else that fell in it path into the yard created quite a mess. The water current also uprooted a shrub and ripped out all my perennials.

After the chaos was done, I had a rock pile in front of the house, no yard and the beginning of an idea of how to make sure that this would not happen again.

How would I do this? With a raised shrub bed up near the road, a garden area just below that and a retaining wall at the end of the garden on a hill and before the new drive way.

photo credit: mikeporcenaluk

The driveway would also have drainage and a dry creek, just in case I ever had water again. I drew my ideas on paper, started accumulating my needed supplies and knew that a project this big would take a year to complete, if I wanted to keep costs reasonable.

You may also need a garden on a hill to divert or slow water or to create an area that does not need mowed. You can add color and beauty, cut down on yard work and make sure your soil is stabilized in case of a flood or water run off.

To prepare my yard I picked up the biggest rocks that washed in the yard, tried to find what perennials I could salvage then laid down heavy cardboard to kill the grass. I had such a mess this was the easiest way to deal with the problem.

You may want to prepare the soil by removing weeds or any undesirable large rocks or boulders. It is good to leave some large rocks, however, for interest and for ground stability purposes.

photo credit: stereogab

Next I Mixed organic mulch and compost in topsoil and layered it on the cardboard base. If your mixing a the mulch into the ground two to four inches will be sufficient. I used 10 inches of my soil mix.

Next I studied my plant and shrub plan, lightly sprayed the soil to make it firm and let it set for a day. Then I tamped it in place and prepared to lay out my garden plan.

My plan involved shrubs, perennials, and rocks to help direct any excess water.

Next I Dug furrows along the contour of the hill to allow water to flow between the plants rather than running straight down the hill. This will direct the water to flow along the plants, then down and away from your home.

My next plan was to make sure the drive was put in the way I wanted it. Then on to the shrubs and plants.

Part two will follow in a few days