I have just built a house which has a large garden. The house was cut into the hill and as such I now have massive areas of steep slopes which need covering to prevent erosion and to look nicer. The question is what plants can I put on this sloping land that cover very quickly and can live in sandy soil. A plant that can be grown from seed would be good as the house cost a fortune and I am now very poor

"Stevenl" wrote in message
...

I have just built a house which has a large garden. The house was cut
into the hill and as such I now have massive areas of steep slopes which
need covering to prevent erosion and to look nicer. The question is what
plants can I put on this sloping land that cover very quickly and can
live in sandy soil. A plant that can be grown from seed would be good as
the house cost a fortune and I am now very poor

Our advice is no good since we do not know where you live, let
alone in which direction the garden slopes. Your best bet is to
ask neighbours whose properties are similar. (A friend of mine
gardens very succesfully on a southeast slope in Hants: but
his experience would be little use to you in Norfolk or Wales.)

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Stevenl wrote:
I have just built a house which has a large garden. The house was cut
into the hill and as such I now have massive areas of steep slopes
which need covering to prevent erosion and to look nicer. The
question is what plants can I put on this sloping land that cover
very quickly and can live in sandy soil. A plant that can be grown
from seed would be good as the house cost a fortune and I am now very
poor

Where are you and what season is it?

If the temperature is suitable then a quick short-term solution is some sort
of grass using the word in the broader sense. This would include things
like millet. Go to the nearest farm produce store where you can get advice
relevant to your climate and buy seed in large bags.

David

I think I should come clean and confess that I am a complete gardening numpty. This is the first time I have had a large garden, and I mean large over 2 acres which is going to keep me busy for the next 2 years at least. The garden is in France it is north facing but gets plenty of sun until late afternoon. The soil is sandy. we get blazing hot summers and short very cold winters and a bit of rain. The area is called the Cruese in south central France. Can everybody please be patient with me because there is going to be lots of posts from me asking advice until I get a little more expert at this gardening business.

Stevenl wrote:

I have just built a house which has a large garden. The house was cut
into the hill and as such I now have massive areas of steep slopes
which need covering to prevent erosion and to look nicer. The
question is what plants can I put on this sloping land that cover
very quickly and can live in sandy soil. A plant that can be grown
from seed would be good as the house cost a fortune and I am now very
poor

i would terrace it (step up gardens). i'm not sure
about fast growing and sandy soil (in combination),
but there might be a grass that you can use, but
the thing is, if it isn't native and it's fast
growing then it can soon be invasive and a pest
for controlling. terraces can slow things down
and let you work with more plants.

they have that netting/mesh that can hold soil while
seedlings get established. i've never had to use the
stuff myself (very flat land hereabouts), but i see it
being used all the time along roadways and other places
where there are steeper slopes. i am not sure but they
might also spray the soil with some kind of seedbearing
coating which helps stick things together before putting
the mesh down, but i'm not certain about that.

good luck,

two acres, that's a lot of garden...


songbird