| Hillside: Evaluating the Situation |
| Hillside: Evaluating the Situation |
From "Grounds for Improvement"
episode DGFI-210 |
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Let's face it: all yards are not created equal, as homeowners Sybille and Scott Fleming have discovered. Theirs is a yard with issues: the sloping hill by their house is eroding every time it rains, sending rainwater and soil into their driveway (figure A) (figure B). Plants can't take root in the sliding soil, and to make matters worse, the family dogs are also creating paths up and down the unattractive hillside. Jackie Taylor and Dean Hill, the Grounds for Improvement team, have a plan to correct this slippery slope using both color and creativity. In short, it's a plan that simply rocks.
First the drainage problems on the hillside have to be addressed while at the same time implementing a plan that will be visually pleasing to the eye. Enter tons of rocks. The plan is to use existing rocks in the yard, along with large boulders, to build a natural-looking random retaining wall that looks like it was designed by Mother Nature. Helping to keep the soil on the slope will be a variety of plants, including ground covers and ornamental grasses, whose root systems will help bind the soil in place. And to highlight Sybille's German heritage, the new space will have a few decorative touches that will make this hillside unique to the Flemings.And with the help of family and friends, this transformation will cost only $980, a savings of approximately $1,480. Tools
Toro Dingo with bucket and forks
Shovels
Wheelbarrows
Rakes
Hose
Tarps
Posthole diggers Materials
2 tons of boulders -- 20 @ 200 pounds each
4 cubic yards of mulch Plants
3 Pennisetum (fountain grass)
3 Chamaecyparis 'Mopps'
3 Pieris japonica 'Mountain Fire'
6 Knock Out? rose
3 Miscanthus
3 Dwarf Japonica garden juniper
3 golden kerria
15 crape myrtle
6 daylilies
3 sedum 'Autumn Joy'
3 Purple Dome New England aster
6 potted mums The entire back yard basically drains to one location. To redirect the drainage over a broader area of the yard and eliminate the problem with soil erosion, boulders and rocks will raise the height of the area. First the location of the large stones is marked off with landscape paint. Then with the help of family and friends, the slope is cleared of all unwanted vegetation and rocks. Luckily, most of the existing vegetation, including roses, daylilies and ground cover, will stay and become part of the new landscape. Stonework, already in place along the edge of the driveway, will stay as an anchor for the new hillside.
RESOURCES :
Black and Decker tools
Website: www.blackanddecker.com
Black & Decker, Inc. (Corporate)
Website: www.bdk.com/main_bd.htm
Porter-Cable Tools
Porter-Cable Corporation
Website: www.deltaportercable.com
Irwin Industrial Tool Company
Website: www.irwin.com
Ames True Temper Tools
Ames-True Temper
Website: www.ames-truetemper.com
American Society of Landscape Architects
Delta Tools
Deltak Power Tools
Website: www.deltamachinery.com
Plants provided by Hancock Horticultural Services
Hancock Horticultural Services Inc.
Phone: 865-933-3200
Garden gnomes
Kimmel Gnomes
Website: www.kimmelgnomes.com
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