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Old 23-03-2011, 12:42 AM
lannerman lannerman is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: May 2009
Location: Lanner. Cornwall.
Posts: 359
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex H View Post
One of the boundaries of our garden is a steep slope, about 40 degrees, 2m high bordering a path to a neighbours house. The slope is south facing and quite loose, I guess because of the dryness of the soil. At the moment it is held together with weeds and the odd bit of grass. Here, the climate is such that in the summer the heat is enough to kill most of the vegetation and the erosion starts. Its not helped by the fact that some neighbours use it to come and say hello, when we are working in the garden! At the top of the slope is a large lime tree, which won't help with the moisture content of the soil!

What I'm looking for is low growing, drought resistant planting that will put the neighbours off walking on it. So far we've come up with lavender and rosemary, but these both become woody with age and need to be replaced, which I'd rather not do.

Any other suggestions please?

Regards

Alex
Hi Alex, What you need is something thats not only vigorous but ideally a plant that will bind the bank as well as covering it. Just the act of covering the bank will help retain some moisture in summer, therefore, I would suggest Rubus rubrifolia. its vigorous but we work on the basis that you can always cut it back !
Lannerman