Hi everyone! New to the forum, new to Seattle and new to homeownership, which means my wife and I will finally get a proper garden going. (We did our best with container planting during our years in apartments back East.)

One of the first things I'd like to tackle is to rip out ivy that's covering the partially shaded hillside in front of the new house and replace it with ground cover that's native to this area.

1) Any suggestions for which plant to use? I was thinking maybe Kinnikinick. Erosion control is a plus because the retaining wall that holds the fairly steep hillside from the sidewalk has seen some years.

2) Is it possible to remove-and-replace the ivy in chunks? I'd like to avoid denuding the hillside entirely, if possible.

3) Beyond this project, what would folks recommend, in terms of WA native plants with which it's hard to go wrong? We have some variety on our lot, in terms of sun/shade and drainage. I was eyeing the WNPS Central Puget Sound Chapter plant sale, which takes orders before I'll have had the chance to do any thorough garden planning. Mainly looking for ornamental grasses, flowers that favor hillsides and rocky outcroppings, a small shrub and some tidy (ie no ferns) ground cover for some shaded sections of our backyard. Would particularly love to hear from @bonehead, who seems expert at this

Thanks all and look forward to participating in this community.

to the PNW! I'm not an expert however you may want to consider Salal (Gualtheria shallon) as one of your choices. Hopefully others will help with more suggestions!

Thanks for the shout-out, although I do not claim to be an expert in anything. That said, I have had great luck with kinnikinnik. It spreads quickly and thrives on slopes. Evergreen, pretty little flowers followed by berries. I could picture your slope with kinnikinnik as a ground cover with perhaps some miniature conifers and random boulders here and there. Easy care and kind of a soothing look.

Here's a link I use often: https://green2.kingcounty.gov/... In addition to info on PNW native plants, it also offers planting plans.

Salal I've found more finicky for some reason. It grows freely in my ditches but whenever I try to transplant it, I fail. I guess it wants to choose its own spot.

Also in my ditches is a recurring combo of sword ferns with snowberries growing above the ferns, really a pretty look. If sword ferns are too bulky for your yard (they can get pretty large if they are happy), deer fern are much smaller.

If you can get your hands on native vine maple, they put on a gorgeous show in the fall and don't get too big.

Best of luck with your project (keep posting pictures as you progress) and kudos for tackling the English ivy. It is really a problem child in our region.