Slopes can be tricky, but two main objectives are clear: reducing erosion and creating an attractive part of your garden. Generally, both of these can be achieved simply by smart planting.

Smart planting can involve choosing a mixture of California native trees, groundcovers, grasses and annual wildflowers. These will produce a variety of root depths that help to hold onto the soil.

Once you’ve selected your plants, you’ll want to make sure that immature specimens aren’t washed away when storms hit. Setting out your seedlings in October – before the big rains hit – is best, and you can further protect them by installing landscape netting to hold them in place.

Establishing California native plants on hot dry slopes requires some special (but easy) planting and watering techniques, as explained in this article:

https://www.cnps.org/gardening/garden-qa-lee-gordon-7367

Remember, though, if you live in a fire-prone area, to check local fire regulations for guidance on plant spacing, height and maintenance.

And be sure, if are considering more than just planting to stabilize a hillside, such as building retaining walls or installing a surface drainage system, to consult first with your City’s building department or with a professional engineer, since permits and inspections are often required for this kind of construction.

Below you will find a list with photos and a diagram of the Hillside Garden.  The Sustainability Garden is always changing and though District staff will be updating the garden diagrams regularly customers may find a plant out of place in the garden compared to the diagram.  if you are looking for a particular plant, let us know and we will work to get you the information you need.

 And a more extensive list of hillside plants from the Theodore Payne Foundation:

http://theodorepayne.org/nativeplantdatabase/index.php?title=Erosion_Control

 For more information on planting on slopes, watch the videos below.