Greenhills Garden Design
Quality design with the personal touch

Tony needed garden design advice for his steep bank

Tony has a garden in Heath & Reach, Bedfordhire. He needed some suggestions for a steep earth bank which he had behind his house. The bank is about 20 feet high and a section some 30 feet long needed replanting with shrubs and ground cover with strong root systems to prevent erosion. In Heath & Reach the soil is sandy and Tony's bank faced north west with a little dappled sun late in the day.

I suggested that it would be a good idea to try and improve the water retention of the soil by incorporating some well-rotted manure or similar before planting. For best results he could plant through a permeable, woven landscaping fabric. As the situation he was planting was so tough the plants may not reach their usual height and spread so he could plant closer than normal. He would need to keep them well watered until established and then they should be able to cope with the conditions.
Shrubs
Skimmia japonica
Euonymus fortunei 'Silver Queen'
Mahonia repens 'Rotundifolia'
Cotoneaster microphyllus
Hypericum calycinum (don't try in other parts of a garden as in good conditions it will be invasive)
Perennials -
Vinca minor
Bergenias (most varieties)
Pachysandra termanalis
Viola riviniana Purpurea group
Waldstenia ternata (again - don't try in other parts of a garden as in good conditions it will be invasive)