Hillside question
 

I would like to re-landscape our side-yard which is basically a small
hill/incline. I am in a pretty dry environment, although I can water the
area without too much hassle. That particular part of the yard does not
have much shade if any. Here is what I a looking for:

1. It has to be a kind of grass and needs to be green most if not all year
round.
2. The grass would preferably be clumpy, or otherwise have a very meadowy
feel to it by laying flat and having long blades. We have plenty of wind
here, and it would be cool to see it brushed by the wind.
3. The lower the maintenance the better.

I think that is it. Here is what I have found so far, tell me what you
think:

1. Blue fescue: Too blue for me though.
2. Golden Toupee Fescue: Looks like it could be exactly what I am looking
for, but I wanted to check with other gardeners to see what their experience
has been with these.
3. Creeping Red Fescue: From what I have seen, the look of this grass is
very pretty, but I am not sure if it would stand up to tons of sun. I might
be willing to put in some kind of shading as well, but I would rather not.
Also not sure of the maxim length the grass blades will grow.
4. Ridu hard fescue: This seems like it is more for a lawn than for a
hillside though.

I honestly don't know what I am doing regarding this subject, so any advice,
or direction would be very helpful!

Thanks,
Pair

Red fescue is better for partly shaded areas. The fescue grasses are
good choices for draught tolerance, a blend is better. Iris, thyme,
rug junipers, or possibly an herb garden are all good choices,
although I'm not certain about your location. I have tall fescues
(Rebel Supreme) growing exceptionally well on steep dry sunny slopes
in E.TN.

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:40:03 -0800, "TwistedPair"
wrote:

I would like to re-landscape our side-yard which is basically a small
hill/incline. I am in a pretty dry environment, although I can water the
area without too much hassle. That particular part of the yard does not
have much shade if any. Here is what I a looking for:

1. It has to be a kind of grass and needs to be green most if not all year
round.
2. The grass would preferably be clumpy, or otherwise have a very meadowy
feel to it by laying flat and having long blades. We have plenty of wind
here, and it would be cool to see it brushed by the wind.
3. The lower the maintenance the better.

I think that is it. Here is what I have found so far, tell me what you
think:

1. Blue fescue: Too blue for me though.
2. Golden Toupee Fescue: Looks like it could be exactly what I am looking
for, but I wanted to check with other gardeners to see what their experience
has been with these.
3. Creeping Red Fescue: From what I have seen, the look of this grass is
very pretty, but I am not sure if it would stand up to tons of sun. I might
be willing to put in some kind of shading as well, but I would rather not.
Also not sure of the maxim length the grass blades will grow.
4. Ridu hard fescue: This seems like it is more for a lawn than for a
hillside though.

I honestly don't know what I am doing regarding this subject, so any advice,
or direction would be very helpful!

Thanks,
Pair

Hi Pair,
You don't say where you live so it would be difficult to make specific recommendations. If you are in Arizona, I might suggest different sites then if you were in Montana, if you are in the US at all. With that said, you could take a look at these sites. Also, visit the first one so you will know your hardiness zone if you are in the US.
http://www.garden.org/zipzone/

Grasses:
http://www.hostas.com/grasses/index-grasses.html
http://www.prairiefrontier.com/pages...regrs6-10.html
http://www.amberwavegardens.com/main.html
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_plants_g...212966,00.html
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_plants_g....html#invasive

You might want to consider using something like lirope instead of grass. You mow it or cut it back once a year like the ornamental grasses, but it stays green all year long and there are variegated varieties too.
http://images.google.com/images?q=li...r=&sa=N&tab=wi

Newt