Question

Backyard   Behind my house is a hill that is fairly steep - you can't push a wheelbarrow up the hill or walk without walking at an incline.  The area is shaded with filtered sunlight.  It also has a lot of shale rock and it is clay, has a lot of Poplar trees.  I have planted azalea's, liriope, hostas, and a few other plants for shade.  Only the azalea's and hostas's have survived.  It is very dry and when it rains it is like a flood, however, I did put in a drainage wall with piping so that my patio is not washed out.  Here is the question, is there anything I can do to this bank without spending thousands?  

Answer
Hello,

First,that hill looks pretty stripped of vegetation and so look into planting some shade tolerant,soil holding ground cover,preferably something that can also act to slow the water down on the hill as that may be a contributing factor to the flooding. When the water is slowed down on a hill,more of it has time to soak into the soil and therefore the flooding will be reduced.

The roots of the ground cover will also make the soil more porous and lessen runoff on the slope. Various types of cover crops are well adapted to performing this function.

There is probably an abundance of leaves and twigs on the slope. Till that into the soil. This will increase the porosity of the clay and aid in the infiltration of water into the slope and provide a more fertile soil for the plants you wish to place there. Wattles (rolls of straw) could be staked to the slope and used to slow down the water. Fescue grass is very shade tolerant and so you might want to consider that.

Is enough water being carried away at the foot of the slope. You say you have a wall and pipe there but simply a drainage pipe may not be adequate. A channel able to accept a high flow volume and carry the water away quickly could be a better solution. This could include a trench drain,ditch or swale. Good luck. Let me know if I can be of further help.

Mark Harshman


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