Ground cover and preventing soil erosion from a steep bank.

[friend of stouby]

 

The front of our property is above the road level, by as much as 4m at the highest point down to 2m. A steep bank (maybe 75 degrees from the horizontal ) runs down from our garden to the road level. The bank has been built with stone and soil but without any form of mortar, and is covered by grass and weed. There is a shallow ditch at the base.

There is a fence running along the upper boundary edge with some of the post concrete bases becoming exposed due to erosion.

The question is...are there any recomendations for dealing with the two continuing problems. To stop further erosion by planting into the bank, and to plant some form of ground cover that will need minimal maintainance but remain looking good. We are there only half the year.

The previous owners were part of the farming comunity and I believe that a neighbour must have trimmed the bank for them. We are new to the area but hardly there at the moment,  and are not sure that we could ask the same favour anyway, therefore a low maintainance ground cover.

The bank faces east, is well drained fine soil, in the shade for maybe half the day, and as I wrote is underpinned with sandstone rock, which is another reason that mowing with a flymow on a rope for example doesn't work, some of the rock shows through.

Any straightforward ideas please?

[andyh4]

For cutting the bank the only option will be a strimmer, and even that will be difficult.

 

To stabilise the bank, the best solution I can think of would be somethinglike a hawthorn hedge planted at the top of the bank.  The roots of this will stabilise the soil for at least a couple of metres depth once established.

 

[Pip]

Hi FOS

For ground cover you could use one of the Hypericum species called 'Rose of Sharon'.  It tolerates light or shade and is quite quick growing.  Also Periwinkle.

[Russethouse]

How about using ivy as a ground cover ? You can get different varieties and an annual trim (once it has got going) should keep it looking good. Should certainly tolerate the sun/shade situation but if possible I would plant in the autumn.

[friend of stouby]

 

Thanks andyh4, Pip and Russethouse, they are all good points.

Strimming is a very difficult option due to the height unless a scaffold was used but there is the ditch to contend with too, plus the highest part of the bank really does appear like the North Face of of the Eiger when looking from below.

Have thought of planting a hedge at the top but it then occurred, how to trim it on the road side?

Perriwinkle sounds interesting, I'll investigate it further and Ivy is found all around our property (though not on this bank!) and in the recent past has overtaken 2 large oak trees nearby, so is obviously virulent. That may put us off of Ivy as we do love trees and it appears as a pest in the neighbourhood although because it grows so well it may be the best idea?

With any planting, hedge or ground cover, plants that have intense root systems are what we are looking for, to form a mat across the bank face or just under it.

Many thanks again for the ideas,

Jamie

[Russethouse]

It might be worth contacting a specialist ivy nursery (they do exist) and asking for recommendations for the most suitable varieties for your purpose.

[Pip]

I agree with Gay, Jamie, Ivy does give good cover and the roots are indeed strong.  The two I offered will give you some colour if that is what you would like.  There are other plants good for dense ground cover (creeping Thyme for example) but these are slower to spread.  I hope you find something that will cover both your problems !

[Russethouse]

http://www.fibrex.co.uk/hederas.asp

Fibrex is quite well known and would probably help.

Some years ago I bought a 99p ivy plant from Marks and Spencer and planted it in a Belfast sink, now we are redoing the patio area where it stood, it had to go. In the meantime the ivy had covered a reasonably large area of the house and what is more the roots had found the plug hole and somehow formed roots in the concrete ! We had to use a pick axe to lever the sink up and then saw the root off !

We have other ivies and they just get an annual trim.

Of course you could use a mixture of the plants suggested and let them fight it out

[Patf]

Someone near us has such a bank next to the road and has created a

really beautiful garden on it. They must have spent a fortune on

plants. At the top is a selection of flowering shrubs and on the bank

itself, mixed with a few rocks, many types of small flowering shrubs,

annuals and perenials. I've never seen anyone actually working on it

but all the gaps have been filled in and there never seem to be any

weeds. What helps is that it's north east facing so doesn't get the

scorching sun which is killing everything at the moment. Pat.

[M]

To trim it, buy a hovermower and use a rope from the top of the bank - lower the mower down the slope.

M

[friend of stouby]

 

...the problem with the flymow on a rope idea is there are a fair number of rocks (part of the retaining setup) which are not flush with the bank surface...