Question
QUESTION: My dgtr has a fairly steep hill immediately beyond her deck at the back of the house.  It is extremely rocky soil and if you take out one rock you just uncover another.  She is on a very limited budget and I was hoping to come up with a easy solution to make the area pleasing to the eye.  I think mulch would look nicely since grass only grows in small patches. I'm sure the mulch will wash to the bottom.  Should we try to divert the water at the top of the hill somehow?
ANSWER: Hi Carol,

How large are these rocks/stones? Removing rock that is so deep and on a slope usually has a simple solution - rock garden! I'm not sure where you are located so I can't recommend particular plants for this, but, ornamental grasses and groundcover might work very well (there are many types of rock garden plants). Another important question is how much water flows down this slope? If you'd like get back to me on the above details and I'm sure I can help you out more.

Take care,
Kat

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The stones/rocks range from marble size to approx 5inch dia and they are very dark grey/black.  Most of the water flows into my dgtrs yard at the base of the slope (from the adjoinging houses that sit higher and the builder did come back and put a drain in her yard. The hill is approx 40ft in length and 20ft wide then it levels off at the top where there are trees and bushes.  It gets sun most of the day and she lives in the White Marsh area in Baltimore County. Thanks for your interest and help.   Carol
ANSWER: Hi Carol,

Ah, I see...this is a man-made slope. Or at least it is a slope as a result of the home-building. Am I correct? I was assuming this was a natural rocky slope. This will require a few more questions :-)

Drainage. Are there small or large channels on the slope? Where is the water going in the landscape? How does it move across the stones?

How much stone is there to soil? For instance, 75% stone, 25% soil. Also, does the soil have any sand in it?

How steep is the slope? Can you walk on it? Crawl on it? If it is too steep to walk, can you make cross paths? Can you run a wheelbarrow up it? Can you make a path that would allow a wheelbarrow on the hillside? Staircase? Ladder? Is the slope accessible at all?

Thanks,
Kathy





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sorry to take so long getting back with the answers.  They had to dynamite to put in her foundation.  My husband had to get a jack hammer to dig a deep hole when building a deck off the back of her house.  The hill was left in tact when the house was built.  You can walk straight up it if you get a running start.  Can't run a wheelbarrow up it.  She's managed to get a few clumps of grass to grow. It hard walking down due to the loose stones.  It's at least 75 % stone - no sand - clay.  At the top it levels off and there are trees and wild brush.  There are no channels from the rain - most of the water just runs along the bottom  from neighboring yards and there is a swail so the water runs into a drain.  

Answer
The only thing you can do besides terracing it - which would cost more time and money than I think you are interested in - is to plant directly on it. You may need to unearth some stones, add some amendments. I'm not sure in what capacity the clay is about the stone. If you unearth enough stone do you hit clay or is it all sorta mixed up. If the clay soil is in large enough clumps you should be able to plant in it - much like the clumps of grass that your daughter managed to grow on it. I hope I'm making sense. Here is a list of plants (as well as grasses)that grow well in clay soil. I suggest you copy and paste each plant name into a search engine and search "images" to see what you think will work best visually. The shorter and stockier the plant the better as it will hold up against wind and rain.

Plants Recommended for Growing in Clay Soil
(Zones will vary with variety.)
Amsonia Blue Star (Zones 5-9)
Asclepias tuberosa Butterfly Weed (Zones 4-9)
Aster (various) Aster (Zones 4-8)
Coreopsis Tickseed (Zones 4-8)
Echinacea purpurea Coneflower (Zones 3-9)
Eryngium yuccifolium Sea Holly (Zones 5-10)
Helianthus angustifolius Swamp Sunflower (Zones 6-9)
Helianthus x laetiflorus False Sunflower (Zones 5-9)
Heliopsis helianthoides Ox Eye (Zones 4-9)
Hemerocallis Daylily (Zones 3-10)
Liatris pycnostachya Kansas Gayfeather (Zones 4-9)
Liatris spicata Blazing Star, Gayfeather (Zones 4-9)
Monarda fistulosa Wild Bee Balm (Zones 3-9)
Ratibida pinnata Drooping Coneflower (Zones 3-10)
Rudbeckia hirta Black-eyed Susan, Gloriosa Daisy (Zones3-7)
Sedum 'Autumn Joy' (Zones 3-10)
Silphium integrifolium Prairie Dock (Zones 4-7)
Silphium laciniatum Compass Plant (Zones 5-9)
Silphium perfoliatum Cup Plant (Zones 5-9)
Solidago Goldenrod (zones 5-9)
Vernonia noveboracensis Ironweed (Zones 5-9)
Yucca filamentosa Adam's Needle (Zones 5-10)

Ornamental Grasses Suited for Clay Soils
Acorus gramiineus Grassy-leaved Sweet Flag (Zones 10-11)
Andropogon gerardi Big Bluestem (Zones 2-7)
Elymus canadensis Canadian Wild Rye (Zones 3-8)
Miscanthus sinensis Eulalia Grass (Zones 4-9)
Panicum virgatum Switch Grass (Zones 5-9)
Pennisetum (various) Fountain Grass (Zones 6-9)
Sorghastrum nutans Indian Grass, Wood Grass (Zones 5-8)
Spartina pectinata Prairie Cord Grass (Zones 4-7)

If this hill has been there for awhile and nothing has grown on it naturally chances are it may be difficult to get anything to "stick." If you can't plant on it the way it is, you may want to terrace it for the future when you have the budget.

Let me know what you decide :-)