Hi Reddit ! I’m looking for some advice and ideas to improve the front area of my house.
The main challenges are:
• The ground is on a slope
• There’s a lot of buried concrete/rubble under the soil (old construction leftovers), so digging everything out or fully reworking the ground would be a huge job that I’d prefer to avoid
I’d still like to make it look clean, welcoming, and a bit more “finished” without taking on massive groundwork.
I’m open to different approaches like:
• Landscaping tricks for sloped areas
• Solutions that don’t require deep digging
• Low-maintenance designs would be a big plus
If anyone has dealt with a similar situation or has creative ideas, I’d really appreciate your input (photos/examples welcome!).
Thanks in advance 🙏
by Alex9Right
1 Comment
Since you cannot dig down through that buried concrete you have to build up. Throwing dirt or mulch directly on that slope is a waste of time because it will just wash right into the street after a heavy rain. You need to establish a solid edge first. Build a low retaining wall using dry stacked landscape blocks right along the sidewalk and driveway line. Once that structure is in place you can bring in a few yards of quality topsoil and mound it right over the rubble. That gives you the root depth you need without breaking your back with a pickaxe.
With fresh soil mounded up you need to focus on shallow rooted spreaders that will lock the slope together. Skip the isolated individual flowers and plant in sweeping connected masses so it looks intentional and calm. Mix in a few surface boulders for year round structure and surround them with tough native creeping junipers or low ornamental grasses. You want it all to flow into one solid texture rather than a scattered polka dot mess.
Before you order any blocks or soil take a picture of this tarp situation and run it through the GardenDream web app. It lets you overlay different wall heights and plant layouts right over your existing dirt. Treat it like a blueprint so you can see exactly how the terracing and plant masses will actually look on that slope. It is a solid safety net to make sure your plan works visually before you start hauling heavy materials around your yard.