Sloping garden ideas - how to create brilliant sloping borders...

How to garden successfully on a slope. Whether you're living on a mountain or just have a small bank to plant up, experienced gardeners Richard and Lesley explain how gardening on a slope is different from gardening on the flat. Here they share their top tips:
00:00 You don't need special plants for a slope
00:30 How to start gardening on a slope
01:06 You see slopes from more angles than flat gardens have
01:58 Should you plant a slope with the smallest plants at the front, tallest at the back?
03:34 Work out how the sun falls on your slope
03:48 Staking is important on a slope
05:15 Do you need 'mat-forming plants'?
05:30 It's essential to mulch your garden well
06:00 Watering a sloping border
06:51 Terracing a sloping garden
09:56 Managing shady slopes
10:45 What have been your most successful border plants?
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[@user-cz9mx4km5h]

I am so enjoying your channel. I especially appreciate that you never speak over your guests but allow them to finish their thoughts. Thank you.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@lesliekendall5668]

That was an interesting point. To not give it the feel of everything slipping off.

[@LouciferFlump]

Yes I think I’ve been making that mistake, with too much of a low height level at the base of my slope🤔

[@awildapproach]

She has a gorgeous garden! I garden on a slope, and I can agree that watering requires slower watering and deeper watering. My slope is full southeast facing sun and I'm in the USA, so it's an intensely hot slope in mid to late summer, and even early fall...it's a challenge, but I love gardening, and I just experiment until I find what I like and what works. Thanks for sharing this beautiful garden with us, Alexandria!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@tick999]

Have you ever thought about using swales or wetting agents?

[@LifeHomeandGardenwithAnaRica]

Beautiful garden and thank you for a brilliant ideas.

[@RosyHardyGardening]

Brilliant video, as ever :)

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you! Hope you're well!

[@kristenaverett7857]

This was so helpful! I have several large sloped beds that I am about to plant this spring so this is great timing. Thank you for sharing ❤

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@suz4keeps]

Informative and inspiring thank you, what a marvellous garden

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you

[@JanRonandArthur]

Thank you for this. I am going to plant out my Devil’s Strip (the 4 foot space between my city sidewalk and the street) because it is a 30° slope and is impossible to mow. This was excellent information for jump starting that project as I look out at it through drizzle and sleet! I thoroughly enjoy your videos

[@lesliekendall5668]

I remember when I was young seeing a lot of those "sloping to the sidewalk" homes in the Seattle area.

[@pansepot1490]

There’s a KZbinr who has turned her devil’s strip into a beautiful garden. The channel is Y Garden, I’ll see if I can post a link to the relevant video.

[@pansepot1490]

Link to the devil’s strip garden tour. kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6jbmayXgteXrsksi=tWxSxGWaWHxbXnh6

[@JanRonandArthur]

@@pansepot1490 thanks for the info. I will search for her as well

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Hope it goes well!

[@cerridwencottagediary9194]

All of my borders are sloping and I completely agree with what was said. I live in Wales but have to water alot even though we are so wet here. It is also very challenging to stake and I haven't nailed it yet either!

[@tick999]

Look into building swales and applying wetting agents

[@Cassieskins21]

Beautiful garden, and very good advice and ideas 👍👍

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you, I thought Richard and Lesley really did have very practical advice, so I was delighted to hear it.

[@catherineperry9513]

Excellent, such good info from your usual very good questions eg the multiple different angles - hadn't occurred to me, a good thing I'm still waiting for autumn rains before planting my new slope! thanks Alexanda.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Happy planting!

[@jayduplessis7698]

Thank you, I found this interview incredibly useful! And what a magical garden!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It is!

[@lorimiller623]

Ferns are great for a wet slope. They grow out of the walls of the old Carrie Furnace in Pittsburgh. The ultimate slope!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Great suggestion

[@BeyondTheGrays]

Thank you so much for this video!The tip to dig the upper part of the slope deeper so the plant will sit more level was so helpful!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sunitashastry5270]

This was a beautiful garden on a special setting. Gardening on a slope - even a little bit of area is a challenge. Thank you for covering it.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Me neither, I am really not good at staking!

[@nancymoore6771]

Thank you for your knowledge!

[@quicknumbercrunch8691]

In my slopping garden I always terrace at least a pathway so as not to make it dangerous for a senior like myself. I flatten a path, shoveling the earth higher on the slope, and then plant into the path, so when finished there is no obvious path, just a row of plants. The reason not to throw the earth down is that one usually wishes to have good top soil up high. Top soil tends to move down so there is no point in adding soil there. A nice thing about the slope is that one can plant more fruit trees or whatever because the canape of one tree or plant shades the base of the tree above.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Interesting, thank you.

[@sydneykasmar]

What a beautiful garden. The video was very informative. Thank You.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@geraldinefields1730]

Thank you.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You're welcome!

[@LouciferFlump]

What a lovely, interesting video. My back garden gradually ascends up into a very extreme gradient with trees along the top of it then woodland in the flat area behind at the top. It’s certainly challenging! 🥴I’ve never tried to “fight” it and making it into terraced rows would be a logistic nightmare, I think. Interesting tips and to see what others are doing. When I put a new plant in, I do the little trough/barrier with a stone thing to hold the water there but I also water up *behind* the plant, so that gravity pulls it down into the roots below, instead of it trickling away in front of it, if you know what I mean.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That does sound quite challenging!

[@kevinjamesparr552]

Thank you i was really missing this . Slope in garden .Digger hire level and all falls into place

[@PrincessDie187]

Thank you

[@barbkenas5663]

Interesting!

[@cathierose2009]

Great video, thanks

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you liked it!

[@francineh.7825]

Such a beautiful garden!! I would love to sit under that big old fir tree!! I never realized that in Australia the sunnier direction is North - how did I not know this lol.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Yes, it does sound odd to us 'northerners'

[@vidhyalockyer2888]

So glad to see you back Alexandra

[@wildweeds]

I live in a mountain canyon at an elevation of 6840 feet in a pinyon/juniper ecosystem. I've relied a lot on terraces, but so far I'm fairly early into landscaping about three acres of the property around the house. I have found that working with a tractor on a slope is a bit dangerous, but if one is methodical and careful the tractor can be quite helpful. That said, I agree that there are a number of jobs that must be done by hand when it comes to slopes!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you for commenting, it's always good to hear. The very thought of a tractor on a steep slope makes my hair stand on end!

[@LoriSavingWild]

It would be nice to introduce the 3rd being there rather then ignoring her/him. :)

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You're so right! Will do next time :)

[@HellCatt0770]

I struggle on my slope. It’s really hard not to fall over when digging and weeding!

[@julianraulolveramartinez5962]

Beautiful video !! But the sound is a bit deficient :( Maybe you should buy new microphones because the last video had almost the same issue. I really love your chanel and I wait impatient every week to the next video :)

[@moniquemannaert3468]

Yes, I have noticed that as well. Good of you to mention it. 🌿😊

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you for mentioning that, we'll check though it seems to sound OK through my headphones when editing. But always worth checking as we may need new microphones.

[@MGheen]

I'm repeating my comment in case it helps it gain traction--ignore if you've read! I have two questions for you or your followers! 1) What online or digital tool (not paper) do you use for garden planning and logging? I'm thinking about cracking open OneNote so I can use it from my phone and other convenient devices. I'd like to: - keep a log of what I have and where - what the label says it's needs are v what I observe - log monthly/weekly sprouting, blooming, etc so I can document what specific plants + the garden look like year round and anticipate next year - anticipate what tasks I need to do week to week - include my own photos Etc Digital in the cloud seems best for me, so I can edit, add, etc from my phone or desktop, wherever I happen to be. Not paper so I can quickly change and take notes--adding and subtracting info as needed. And layering info--from monthly overall garden snapshot to specific plant info. That's why I'm thinking OneNote... I'd be interested in a tutorial or even an overview of good logs people have used so I can create my own. 2) Where can I go to get "real life" images of what plants look like in every stage and phase of growth and aging? I find plenty of stock photos of "model" plants, at their best, in full bloom, at best height, often just flower closeups or in nursery pots which are not generalizable. But I'd also like to know what a plant / tree looks like at its best and "worst"; when just sprouting, in bloom, dying back; as a sapling v at medium and full growth. Helps me envision what my garden will look like over time. Does such a "real" photo gallery exist? Or do I have to create it for myself? (See OneNote idea above). Thank you!!!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

No, I hadn't spotted it. To answer your first question, I am down the 'back of an envelope' end of the planning spectrum. I've had to learn quite a lot about tech to run the KZbin channel, but I've found the tech side quite challenging and so I don't use any tech tools I don't have to. What you suggest sounds like a great idea, but I haven't heard of anyone doing it. Grow Veg have a garden planner for veg growing, which you could perhaps adapt. As to question 2, what a great idea again! But I agree with you - plants are usually photographed at their very best and sometimes quite stylised. I haven't heard of anyone photographing plants at every stage, but there may be someone out there. Good luck and I'm sorry I haven't been more help.

[@francoisgs1]

Thanks, great information. I am reviewing to redo my steep slope with plants that minimise maintenance with less weeds growth like using rosemary, thymes ; would love to have flowers like shown in your videos but that will require replanting every years right but don’t stop weeds isn’t it?

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I don't think there are many annuals in this video (that's plants which have to be replanted every year). However, that can vary, depending on your climate. Bulbs (choose bulbs that spread for your area) would be low maintenance, and any shrubs with flowers, such as euphorbia. Lesley's slope is quite steep but once the plants are established, they are easy care.

[@Junebug8283]

My yard ends on a slope (not visible from the main yard). Do you have any examines for this type of landscape? I do want to cover empty pockets of dirt and discourage weeds and prevent erosion. However, since the slop isn't really visible from the 1st floor (it is from the second). I'm wondering if there is anything drought resistant that grows high and has a bit of texture. Thank you, I learn so much from your channel.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Drought resistant trees? Depending on where you live - eucalyptus, juniper or ornamental pear (pyrus calleyrana). A word of warning though, even drought resistant trees need regular watering in their first few summers until they get their roots down.

[@RoseMary-vs3io]

💚✨

[@jimmyalvinewart6361]

Dear Alexandra. Great video and very informative. I am trying to create a tropical border on a slope. Is this possible, or should i go for a Mediterranean border. I am in the UK, and my slope is south facing and in full sun. The soil bakes in the hot summer months.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Either would work, but if you have dry weather, the Mediterranean/dry garden style would be easier to maintain and use fewer resources.

[@amylouise9853]

Alexandra, we were just wondering where in Australia this garden is? We are in NSW so it’s just interesting to compare what’s growing well in their garden to ours.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Denver, not far away from Melbourne but higher up so not as hot as Melbourne

[@amylouise9853]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden thank you Alexandra! We guessed probably somewhere in Victoria.

[@jolandascheffers7380]

Dear Alexandra, another very informative video about gardening. Learned so much from your channel over the past few years. May I ask what the name of the lovely white flower (lilium?) with the bell shaped flowers is (at 11:12)? I think it will look lovely in my own garden. Thank you for all the inspiration I got from your channel.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you and I'm so sorry, but I have been hunting around for the name and can't find it. I will keep trying.

[@jolandascheffers7380]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Dear Alexandra, thank you so much for your effort. I might have found the name: Galtonia Candicans. A summer flowering bulb, also known as Cape Hyacint in the Netherlands. Bought 15 bulbs and planted them in our garden this afternoon.

[@TimeTravelReads]

I live in an arid climate. If plants aren't irrigated they don't live. We can only irrigate so many plants because we have a limit on how much water we can use. Our slope isn't full and pretty like this. All well.

[@lesliekendall5668]

Try planting tough areas with native plants. There are a lot of beautiful plants to use once you get into looking for them. I don't have any slope but do live in an area with less than 12" rainfall per year. Look into xeriscaping.

[@RealBradMiller]

So you need to garden with the natives and their habitats in your area. Maybe native grasses on the slopes, and flowering plants in low area that collect any water... You aren't going to have poppies, hostas, and roses, but you can still have a fantastic garden!

[@TimeTravelReads]

@@RealBradMiller Natives aren't living without irrigation either.

[@lesliekendall5668]

@@RealBradMiller Actually poppies and roses are amazingly drought tolerant. So are iris.

[@Flower_hoarder]

🌱🪴ENJOYED🪴🌱

[@pansepot1490]

No offense but I hate staking. If plants can’t stand up on their own nor can be helped by a Chelsea chop they go. There’s hundreds if not thousands of plants one can choose from: imo one can make one or two exceptions for plants they really love but having to stake a whole border would be a nightmare to me.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I think that's a good practical approach.