A plot with a slight bias for many novice gardeners is a real stumbling block in the arrangement of landscape design. But more experienced garden designers, on the contrary, consider inclined land plots more interesting for creating picturesque landscapes: arranging inclined flower meadows, decorating cascades and alpine slides, and placing terraces. Let’s try and we will figure out what tricks they use to turn an empty hillock into an extraordinary flowering slope.
In order to create an elegant flowerbed that will delight with its attractive appearance and not require special care care, a number of points must be taken into account. Main features of inclined sections:
- Soil washing out by streams and streams of rain water running down the slope;
- The need to equip retaining walls and terraces;
- Differences in the microclimate depending on the orientation of the tilt with respect to the cardinal points.
In areas with an angle of inclination of 5-7 °, small grooves help prevent soil leaching. They are dug in several corners of the flower garden, the walls are strengthened, and then framed in the form of small reservoirs. The water flowing into the "pockets" is convenient to use for watering plants and moisturizing the soil.
The best solution when arranging sites at 7-15 ° will be the planting of a lawn, the emerald grass of which, in addition to its decorative function, will be its roots to restrain the washing out of the soil by water flows.
You can learn how to plant lawn grass correctly from the material: //diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/kak-pravilno-posadit-gazonnuyu-travu.html
When designing less gently sloping sections with an inclination angle of 20 ° or more, the only solution to the problem will be the arrangement of terraces - horizontal sections reinforced with retaining walls.
Flower beds on the slopes always look unusually impressive and picturesque, reminiscent of colorful carpets, gently descending to the foot of the hills
The main problem of arranging flower beds on the slope is the threat of leaching the soil with rain and melt water. Successfully solving this problem helps equipping the drainage system.
Rock garden - a picturesque composition of plants and stones. This flower garden is a popular element of landscape design and decorates many suburban areas.
If for the arrangement of the alpine hill on smooth surfaces it is required to additionally build small elevations, then when placing it on a natural slope, it is necessary to make only a minimum of effort to create a natural landscape.
Flower beds arranged on the slopes are attractive in that they are better visible and not so monotonous in comparison with flat compositions. Natural elevations help to emphasize the silhouettes of plants planted on a slope.
Creating a flower garden on a slope, as well as arranging any other flowerbed, includes a number of basic steps.
The choice of plants, taking into account the cardinal points
When arranging a flower garden on a slope, it is important to focus on its location relative to the cardinal points. It is especially important to observe this condition if you are dealing with a hill whose slope is more than 10 °. The location of the flower garden determines its microclimate.
The southern slope is the warmest and brightest part of the hill. It warms up more by sunshine. On it snow is falling faster in spring. But at the same time in the summer months it is the driest and therefore not suitable for all plants.
Only on the southern slope are sun-loving flowers able to show their decorativeness and splendor of flowering to the highest degree
On the southern and southwestern slopes it is best to break rocky flower beds - rockeries and rock gardens. For their design, dwarf varieties of ornamental shrubs are ideal: dwarf gorse, spindle tree, dwarf broom, St. John's wort, creeping pine. Fluffy "pillows" of sheep fescue and colorful rugs of perennial phloxes will be a bright decoration of flower beds.
The soap dish also feels great on the stony hills. More information about this plant: //diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/saponariya.html
When making stony flower beds on the southern slopes, you can’t do without sun-loving ground cover perennials: sun light, milkweed, eschscholzia, Iberis, carnation
The slope, turned to the east and southeast, is no less illuminated by sunlight. But the soil on it can retain moisture longer. These seemingly comfortable conditions can adversely affect the plants that awakened in early spring: the aerial part of the flowers bakes under the scorching sun, while the basal area still dries under not melted snow. On the northeastern and eastern slopes they will grow well: astilba, aquilegia, dicenter and incense.
The western slope is more affected by wind. The soil on it erodes and dries faster. To design such a slope, it is better to choose drought-resistant plants that are not afraid of winds and drafts. Well here the shelters take root: saxifrager, loosestrife, cassock, woodcock, periwinkle.
You can learn more about drought tolerant plants for the garden from the material: //diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/zasuxoustojchivye-rasteniya.html
Green spaces on the northern slope, receiving an insufficient amount of heat, do not differ in special splendor of flowering. Moisture does not evaporate so quickly on the northern slope. Thanks to this, ideal conditions are created for growing moisture-loving flowers. Shade-tolerant and shade-tolerant plants will also feel comfortable here.
Picturesque islands in the penumbra area will be created by delicate lilies of the valley and anemones, expressive hydrangea and geranium, St. John's wort and Lungwort. And openwork foliage of fern, as well as air bushes bought and incense will help to give volume to the composition.
In addition to the orientation of the slope relative to the cardinal points, it is also important to consider that in the upper part of the flower garden the earth will always be drier than in the lower one. Therefore, plants in the flower bed are arranged according to the principle: drought-resistant flowers are planted on a hill, water-loving - at the foot.
Also, material on the selection of plants for the alpine hill will be useful: //diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/podbor-rastenij-dlya-alpijskoj-gorki.html
Flood protection
Rainwater and spring floods are the main problem of hillside plots.
Water flowing down streams along the inclined surface of the flower bed leaves its mark on the earth in the form of deep ditches, which over time can turn into steep ravines
Together with water flows, fertile soil layers are washed away. Therefore, one of the first tasks that the owner of the inclined area must solve when planning to “break up” the picturesque landscape is to establish a drainage system. For its arrangement, you can apply one of two ways.
You can find out how to organize a water drainage system on a site from the material: //diz-cafe.com/voda/drenazh-uchastka-svoimi-rukami.html
The first way is to dig drainage grooves along the slope. Shallow "stripes" are laid at a distance of 2-3 meters from each other. The role of drains can be performed by ordinary shallow pits, the bottom of which is lined with a waterproof film, as well as small storage tanks, the liquid from which is convenient to use for irrigation of plantations.
The second way is to equip the "protective" drain, placing it above the flower garden. Such a drainage system is more suitable if the quality of the wastewater leaves much to be desired, for example: when a highway passes over the site. Ditches are laid around the perimeter of the site, placing them just above the beds so that sewage does not fall into the site, but accumulates in the accumulative reservoirs-accumulators arranged along the edges.
When arranging the drainage system, it is important to take care of the appearance of the storage tanks, decorating them along the outer edge with moisture-loving flowers or decorative foliage bushes
Strengthening the soil in the flower garden
Inclined terrain is a stunning observation deck, on which a beautifully designed flower garden always looks unusually picturesque and spectacular. But the soil in the hills often has a thin layer of fertile soil, which is also washed out by the rains. Solving the problems helps strengthen the soil by installing retaining walls and arranging terraces. It is possible to enrich the soil composition at the site of arrangement of the future flower garden by adding the brought black soil.
Overview of the 5 most effective ways to strengthen slopes and slopes: //diz-cafe.com/plan/ukreplenie-sklonov-na-uchastke.html
Creating terraces is an exciting and creative process. They can be arranged in a row, placed asymmetrically or in a checkerboard pattern. The number and height of terraces depends on the size of the plot and the degree of its steepness
Any natural and building materials: stones, bricks, concrete blocks, sheet metal and logs are great for deterring the soil and decorating terraces.
In order for the retaining wall to be successfully combined with the overall design of the site and to look harmoniously against the background of the slope, the materials for its design should be selected taking into account the stylistic orientation of the entire garden. Flower beds with an emphasis on natural beauty will effectively look framed by artificial or natural stone.
To create the effect of a natural landscape, retaining walls are arranged somewhat randomly during their arrangement. Retaining walls can either emerge from the ground or merge smoothly with the relief
For a flowerbed in the Art Nouveau garden, a brick design with forging elements is ideal. When designing a plot in a rustic style, terraces are very picturesque, reinforced by props designed in the form of wattle. Attractive such supporting walls and ease of manufacture.
To strengthen the wall of the slope, you only need to drive a few strong stakes, placing them at a distance of half a meter from each other. Between vertically mounted stakes it remains only to twist the flexible young shoots left after seasonal pruning of trees in the garden.
Sloping terrain is a great base for creating flower beds. On improvised terraces, the plants feel very comfortable, and the height differences provide an effective play of the sun and color.
