Homeowners can carefully manage the landscaping and water naturally occurring on their property with concrete slope paving. Rainwater draining from downspouts and rough areas should be diverted to drain away from exposed, sloping areas. Minimize irrigation of landscapes, especially on slopes, as overwatering of bluffs is a common cause of landslides. Also make sure there are no leaks in water and sewer pipes. Depending on the stability of the slope and what lies behind it, you canGarden design on the slopedeal with a concrete slope reinforcement in various ways.
Of course, problems such as erosion control and drainage arise if you support your slope with formwork blocks or use concrete blocks to stabilize the slope. These are, above all, important considerations regarding stability. So before we get into what to do with your steep garden, let's first discuss what's happening on your slope. For example, if you concrete a slope reinforcement, this should hold back dirt and stabilize a hill.
While concrete blocks for average slope reinforcement are not always able to stop the pressure of a massive landslide, you can also pour concrete in various shapes for slope reinforcement, such as concrete for slope reinforcement. You can also protect your property by planting ground cover on slopes to stabilize the soil. However, not all plants counteract soil movement. We therefore recommend consulting a professional landscape architect to determine the best plants for your slope.
Professional advice
If you are dealing with a sloped concrete block that is large enough to pose a hazard to the home itself, it is advisable to consult a geotechnical consultant or civil engineer. Ideally, this is done before the decision to purchase such a property is made. If it is too late, geotechnical engineers can conduct a soil assessment and help determine the best placements of retaining walls, concrete slab slope reinforcement, or other soil stabilizers, such as concrete palisades slope reinforcement with concrete anchors, or if concrete rings are more advisable.
Determine the type of slope
Where does water drain on your slope? Is it moving above or below? The best way to answer these questions is to look for evidence of water channels. Are the channels wide or narrow? Which direction are they going? If the answer is incorrect, erosion control is a problem and the slope may be more unstable than desired. You should keep this in mind when landscaping. For example, dig a hole and fill it with water. Note how long it takes for the water to drain. If drainage occurs within an hour, that's good. If draining takes several days, this process is not working optimally. You should not have water on your slope as wet soil and mud can cause erosion and slipping problems on a steep hill.
Dig another hole somewhere on your slope, preferably where you are considering landscaping. If you find solid rock or clay, the ground beneath your concrete slope reinforcement can slide more easily. This also provides information about what you can plant if, for example, you use formwork stones to fortify your slope with concrete. In the meantime, you can also examine the soil. Take notes on what you find, as it will reveal which types of plants grow best there or are not suitable at all.
Is your slope garden actually accessible? Can you walk up the path or do you always have to hold on to something? Your answers will help you decide whether you can plant and maintain your slope or incorporate part of it into your existing garden landscape. You should also check whether there is enough sunlight there. Here, too, it will help you to take this factor into account to determine how you design your garden and, for example, build suitable concrete rings for slope reinforcement.
Design slope reinforcement from concrete
As mentioned above, erosion is a problem in many cases. For this reason, stabilizing a slope is crucial. What you grow can stop erosion and most soil movements in your landscape, as can reinforced retaining walls. Ultimately, something stable should be able to hold all the dirt and rocks up there. Most slopes can be made relatively stable with plants. The planting should be a mixture of ground cover, shrubs, trees and perennials.
You can cover the areas between the plants with straw, concrete slabs or boulders. A mixture of plants and vegetation layers also ensure that when it rains, the force of the water hitting the ground is deflected. In most cases, when the soil is deeper, a combination of deep-rooted plants such as bougainvillea and shallow-rooted plants such as monkeyflower or mugwort are needed to attach the upper layers to the lower rock.
If you have surface soil on solid rock, planting trees will help move water away from the slope. For the actual planting, create small incisions in the sloping ground as individual garden beds. Staggered planting is also good to prevent water from running straight down the hill. Dig holes large enough for roots to spread and apply a layer of organic thatch between plants, such as large pieces of bark. However, also be sure to irrigate your planted slope using drip irrigation or trickle hose to allow water to penetrate the soil and reduce runoff.
Terracing and grading
Depending on the size of your slope, you can equip it with retaining walls made of concrete to fortify the slope. These are strong and stable barrier walls, usually made of stone, concrete or wood, and are divided into more manageable sections. You can place the terraces where they hold back the soil at the top and create a space at the bottom that can remain flat or planted as a slope. Multiple walls can be placed at different points to create a terraced appearance. You can use terraces as wide and wide areas for plants. If these are large enough, some experts recommend terracing at fifteen meter intervals, which can make your slope much more functional in the long run.
Through thatCreating steps on your slopethere is less chance of the soil sinking. By digging into the hill at specific locations, you can also create levels for planting. Maintain the walls of the tiers with stone pavers or concrete blocks and layer different plants and elements to create a contrast between the gradation. If you're using rock walls as levels, you can also fill them with plants, small trees, or even river rocks for a natural look.
Concrete garden paths and stairs
If your slope is not dangerously steep, you can equip its slope with concrete or stone paths or stairs to reinforce the slope. However, if the slope is very steep, consider a winding garden path. This can consist of paving stones, concrete palisades, concrete slabs or bricks. This means you will be able to traverse your slope and at the same time achieve a lower gradient. Paths made from stepping stones are also a good idea and add form and function to your garden.
Using stones for landscaping adds a certain “natural charm,” while concrete provides more of a modern or minimalist look. At the same time, you can use it to hold plants and soil in place. Also create depressions for stones or concrete rings to sit in, and place different sized pieces with different textures and colors in groups. Leave empty spaces between groups to add medium-sized plants or flowers to break up the landscape.
Use native plants
As you can imagine, native plants are so popular for a reason. In fact, studies show that using native plants on slopes does not cause measurable erosion because they are already adapted to the environment. Such plant varieties are perfect for sloping slopes as they look pretty as well as stabilize the soil and reduce water consumption. You can also choose native plants with different bloom times for year-round color and variation. For example, if you like birds and butterflies, such flowers will surely attract them to your garden.
What not to do on a slope
Planting grass does not stop erosion and it has been found that 30-75% of all rainfall on grassy slopes runs off. Additionally, seeding from a grassy slope creates weeds in the soil. This makes it difficult to stabilize and makes it much more difficult to restore plants. Use little or no so-calledWeed fleece or weed filmsand plastic mats. These will curl up sooner than later anyway, killing almost everything beneath them except possibly weeds. In addition, plastic in a natural landscape does not deter your backyard from beauty treatments. Fabric mats also do not last long, cause more erosion and attract rodents. That's enough for straw mats.
Some plants have very shallow roots and are heavy, which increases the weight of the slope. This encourages the soil in which they are planted superficially to slide after a rainfall. However, these are used so often by many people because they do not burn very easily and can counteract fire hazards. If you are concerned about fire hazards, use native plants, which are more fire retardant than other varieties, instead of Aizoaceae. Additionally, use straw cover as well, which will help keep the plants hydrated and a little less flammable. Slopes in the backyard can be made into beautiful things. However, before designing a landscape, you should always consult a landscape architect to ensure you are not creating any potential problems. If you're still unsure, choose a mix of deep-rooted shrubs and trees mixed with shallow-rooted plants.
