My front lawn is fairly steeply sloped, and I'm making it into a series of flower beds. I'm trying to decide on the cheapest way to edge the beds that would also prevent erosion. I didn't want it to be very noticeable so I was going to use Master Mark recycled plastic edging in the 5" height, and plant it at an inward angle to the slope.

Do you think that will work? What would work better without being too much more expensive?

Interestingly, I moved some roses out there two days ago, and after digging out the clay soil and filling the hole with compost, I used the clay to hand-form a 2-inch ridge around the front and sides of the hole to prevent soil and water from running out when I watered them in. It worked well and got me thinking...

Can you post pictures?

I've found that using a nice thick layer of woodchips works very well to hold a slope...

http://www.stonethegardener.co...

or maybe some rocks?

How do I say this: I don't know how to take a good picture of a hill, lol.

Here's a panoramic picture of the entire setting, but it doesn't show the grading that well (click to see the whole thing):

But I don't think it shows the grading that well.

Here's another from the opposite side of the house pointing back toward the driverway, which you can't see behind the slope. So it slopes in two directions: down the driveway and down this side of the house.



If you think mulch could do it, that would be great. One less thing to worry about buying.

Yeah, I'd mulch it... What kind of mower are you using on that slope?
On the edge of that bush where the photo is cropped off... looks a bit steep... wish I could see more ...

Terracing is not easy to get right... It usually creates more problems than solutions, from what I've seen....

Incidentally... did you say that you dug a hole, replaced the clay with compost?

I would not add organic amendments to the planting hole.

The extension service has done experiments with adding organic amendments to planting holes, and found that they keep the roots wet in the winter... and dry them out ahead of everything else in the summer.

Everybody thinks that they need to get that clay out, and replace it with some potting soil or something... but it doesn't work.
I tried it once, too...

@stone

>>>>I would not add organic amendments to the planting hole.



I learned this lesson the hard way. As a novice gardener, I really didn't know any better. I am gardening in glacier slurry/sub soil. My house pad was carved out of a slope created by glacier debris. When I first planted, I mixed compost with my native soil for my back fill in the planting holes. Yup ... the organic material decomposed and the roses sunk. Ooops

@lovesblooms ...

I found out how Mrs. J, the previous owner of my property solved the problem of holding the soil in place for a slope this week. For the first time since I've owned this property, the snow stayed on the ground for six weeks at my elevation. The vinca Mrs. J. planted was looking pretty sad. Since I had been cleaning up the rose bed below the slope, I decided to go ahead and clean up the vinca and get rid of all of the dead growth. I know the new growth will grow up and through it, but this was the first time I could get to the dead stuff underneath the vinca. I think I'll have denser and healthier plants once I can get the light down to the new growth.

I found that she build a pretty stable rock wall at the base of the slope and then covered the rest of the slope with chicken wire and planted the vinca between the wire. There were a few rocks placed on the slope to hold the wire in place until the plants grew through it. The plants are holding the slope in place and there is no erosion.

This is a photo of the slope several years ago. I have since replaced the deer fence and made the rose bed much larger, but it still only has one rose. The rose, 'Linda Campbell', is also much larger. Now that it has more room, it shouldn't take long for it to fill the whole area fenced in to protect it from the deer.





I don't know if this will help you, but it a method of holding a slope in place that seems to work quite well in this location.

Smiles,
Lyn

@stone, Okay--at least I only planted two roses so far; it'll be easy to pull them out. No I don't want to hazard terracing. How would you recommend I plant them instead? Since this is a slope, I'm afraid mounding soil around the rootballs won't work--they're at the top of the slope, and even when I watered them in, the top layer of soil began sliding right down... which is why I built a little clay rim around the front of the holes. It's right around a 60- to 70-degree angle. I'm going hole by hole right now because this clay is no joke--it's ONLY clay after 2 inches of some other soil the lawn obviously hates. I could fire it in a kiln, after I get the rocks out.

@roseblush1, I considered chicken wire, but was worried it wouldn't look too good, and this is a front yard... Maybe the mulch would do the same...?

@lovesblooms ........

I don't know. I only shared what I found on the slope when I started working on it to clean up the vinca.

I have many slopes on my property and garden on five different levels. All of the slope work was done by the previous owner. I am the beneficiary of all of her experience.

Smiles,
Lyn

I would mulch and then wait...

Or... Turn some soil on the contour... amend the turned soil, plant. Not holes... a bed long enough for all the bushes.


Here's a bit of veggie gardening I did on a mountain side... sorry the pic isn't larger...

Amazing, @stone--and not for the faint at heart!