We had the concrete steps to our front entrance replaced, and there’s an ugly dead zone left behind (it was ugly before, now worse).
This is in zone 6a. I’m fairly experienced with garden plants and projects, but true landscaping is not my wheelhouse.
What’s something we can diy here that will look decent and keep the ground from eroding or spilling mud into the driveway each time it rains? This area is fairly shaded.
by Gardening_Socialist
3 Comments
Look at that ground. The contractors left you with compacted subsoil mixed with gravel washout. Nothing but weeds will survive in that hardpan. You need to dig out the top few inches of that rocky junk and bring in real topsoil mixed with compost. To stop the mud slide immediately, install a solid steel or stone edge right along the driveway line. That creates a physical lip to hold back the new soil and mulch while your plants establish roots.
Since it is shaded in zone six, forget turf grass. You want a dense mass of shade loving plants whose roots will lock that dirt down. Go with native Coral Bells and Pennsylvania Sedge planted tight together. The sedge gives you a sweeping grassy texture that controls erosion and the Coral Bells add structure and color. Throw down a thick layer of shredded hardwood mulch to absorb the rain impact. Before you break your back digging, run a photo of this spot through the GardenDream web app. It lets you overlay different bed shapes and plant masses right on your image so you know exactly where to put the edging and plants before spending a dime at the nursery.
Step one is to excavate and regrade that area to reduce the slope. Two is to plant some kind of evergreen ground cover and then use shredded mulch. Make it a feature rather than an eyesore
I might terrace it with a small brick retaining wall, then loosen the crap soil that’s there before adding topsoil and mulch over it. then maybe plant an evergreen groundcover that will cascade over the wall, possibly with small flowering shrubs (or blueberries) above.