Need your ideas for groundcover on hillside

Question

We need to stabilize a slope behind our house. This slope is located at the edge of a woods and receives mostly shade. Maybe 4 hours of sun/day. We would like your ideas for an evergreen groundcover that can help hold the soil and look nice too.

It would have to be able to get lots of autumn leaves on it as the trees drop their canopy. We would rather not have to remove it all, maybe just some as it is difficult for us to walk this hill. We don’t want the plants to drown in leaves.

We plan to shore up some ruts with topsoil and then lay some burlap down, covered with pine needles, until we can plant the groundcovers. The one that appeals to me so far is spurge, which we see a lot in our area. Would spurge work well in this setting? I know there is a native and an exotic. Which do you like better? If you don’t like that, what do you suggest instead?

Thank you for your input!

Answer 1

You sound quite ready to tackle your landscape project!
Absolutely important to prepare the ground for the plantings, do it right the first time saves so many headaches down the road!
If spurge appeals to you and it does well in your growing zone, by all means use it.

I would suggest you contact your local extension office. They should have some suggestions for your area and your particular project/stopping erosion on a hillside.

I have enclosed a link to help you find your closest office.

I do think creeping juniper would be a good choice for you also.

Here are a few articles to help you. Good luck with your project.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/slope-hill/hill-ground-cover.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/juniper/growing-creeping-junipers.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/groundcover/crown-vetch/growing-crown-vetch.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/extension-search/