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[paleaswater]

When we were house hunting, S was set on having the house on an elevation, being old-fashioned about things like flooding and drainage and such. And boy did we buy a house with elevation. Our front yard is a 15ft high slope with 100% grade(45 degree incline for those of you who do not read landscaping books for entertainment), and covered with

Comments

[mvrdrk]

What are your parameters for the slope? Deer proof? Walkable or merely visually attractive? Do you plan to water, mow, or other activities? Terracing is always a nice, then you could grow herbs or veggies on the upper tiers.

Poison ivy will always come back. The birds will bring the seeds in, so periodic checks are necessary.

[paleaswater]

we're looking for something pretty and low maintenace. absolutely no mowing, and preferably not much watering except to get the plants established initally. Deer is not a real problem here, though bunnies are. Currently I think veggies are going to be planted in the backyard, not front.

[mvrdrk]

The classic ground covers for that area are vinca minor and pachysandra because they are hardy and evergreen. Hosta are nice, but not evergreen so they will look ratty in the late fall/winter. How about Epimedium (淫羊藿)? Or you could go with shrubbery like Scotch heather (Calluna), St. John's Wort (Hypericum), or Firethorn (Pyracantha)? I have my doubts about firethorn, you'd never be able to get past it to get at the poison ivy.

You can get daylilies that will extend the bloom season, but there's no way around the spent blooms unless you want to walk the slope and dead head. Daylilies will continue to look nicer if watered after they bloom. I don't water them either. Your best bet is to go talk to a couple of garden center folks and see what folks there recommend.