How to Landscape on a Sunny Slope Location

Install large rocks or stone walls and steps if your budget allows. Level tiers with retaining walls are ideal, but can be very expensive. Strategically placed large rocks can serve a similar purpose for much less money. For a more budget-friendly method, use landscape timbers and gravel to create steps and small terraces. Any of these elements will aid accessibility, help keep the soil from eroding and provide horizontal surfaces to capture rainfall for plants. Hire a professional if these techniques are beyond your skill level. An investment of this nature will last indefinitely and add value to your property.

Use ground covers that spread on their own to cover a large area with less planting. Shrubby groundcovers ideal for large slopes include junipers, cotoneasters, Stephanandra incisa "Crispa," creeping sumac (Rhus "Gro-low"), bearberry (Arctostphylos uva-ursi), dwarf forsythia (Forsythia "Gold Tide") and wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei "coloratus"). These grow from 1 to 3 feet tall, and 5 to 15 feet wide. Some are evergreen. They grow in most parts of the country, but check the U.S. Department of Agriculture zone information to be sure it will grow in your location.

Create a rock garden for a small slope. If the slope is minor and the area is manageable in size, a rock garden with slow-growing alpine plants, sedums, dwarf conifers and herbaceous perennials is an ideal solution. It will require more maintenance than trees and shrubs, but also offers more color and interest.

Add trees for diversity and height. For a small area, a single tree will visually break up a sea of groundcover and create a focal point. For a large area, a group of trees will hold the soil in and reduce the amount of groundcover needed. Evergreen trees (spruce, fir, pine, etc.) are well adapted for growing on a sunny slope.

Purchase young, small plants for steep slopes -- so that when you dig a hole, you can insert the plant level. The back of the root ball should be level with the grade of the slope. The front of the root ball will be slightly higher than the grade, so fill the gap with extra soil and a rock to help hold it in place. It is critical that the root zone and a little beyond are level to capture and direct water to the root zone. You do not want any rainfall or irrigation to run down the hill without getting to the roots. You can plant level with larger plants too, but there are more gaps and it's more difficult.

Calculate the number of plants and spacing carefully. The rate of growth will depend on the particular plant and the soil quality. You want the plants to touch edges in about three years. Any sooner than that and they are too close and will compete for nutrients. Further apart is okay. The edges will eventually reach each other, but in the meantime, you will be contending with fighting weeds and/or using more mulch.

Mulch the planting area with 2 inches of shredded bark. This will help retain moisture and suppress weeds. Mulching will be necessary until your ground covers have filled in.

Water the planting area with soaker hoses or other slow-drip irrigation methods. This is necessary only for the first year of planting and during times of extreme drought. The plants adapt to dry conditions.