Monroe Chat

I need some helpful suggestions from all of the gardeners out there. My backyard goes up--VERY steep hill, very hard to mow. To make matters worse, during Spring it is extremely wet, even after 4 or more days of no rain, there will be fresh mud in spots and I swear I can hear trickling water--rumors from the neighbors when I purchased the house 2 years ago are that there is a spring/body of water beneath a limestone cap in that dang hill, and when water levels are high in the spring, it comes out of cracks and basically makes my yard and the neighbors a huge mess--I hate mowing that section as it is nothing but muddy tracks when I am done.

I have zero clue what types of shrubs/grasses/flowers/etc could survive being that wet in spring and then also manage the dryness in summer (the hill cracks around late July/August).


Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated, I am getting tired of living w/ this messy hill....

quiet1 wrote:I need some helpful suggestions from all of the gardeners out there. My backyard goes up--VERY steep hill, very hard to mow. To make matters worse, during Spring it is extremely wet, even after 4 or more days of no rain, there will be fresh mud in spots and I swear I can hear trickling water--rumors from the neighbors when I purchased the house 2 years ago are that there is a spring/body of water beneath a limestone cap in that dang hill, and when water levels are high in the spring, it comes out of cracks and basically makes my yard and the neighbors a huge mess--I hate mowing that section as it is nothing but muddy tracks when I am done.

I have zero clue what types of shrubs/grasses/flowers/etc could survive being that wet in spring and then also manage the dryness in summer (the hill cracks around late July/August).


Any thoughts/ideas would be appreciated, I am getting tired of living w/ this messy hill....

Off the cuff... selections of Hydrangea arborescens. Especially if you get afternoon shade there.

Also, you might consider some groundcovers that would eliminate mowing. I'll ponder and see what possibilities I can come up with (what kind of light??).

the home above/behind me has a rather large tree in the rear corner of their yard, so the wet spot gets partial shade in the first part of the day--doesn't help w/ the wetness. Had to mow today (it had been a week since it was last mown) and it was the absolute worst--runny mud.....

I appreciate your time and effort on this one, you always seem to have some very good suggestions regarding landscaping!

quiet1 wrote:the home above/behind me has a rather large tree in the rear corner of their yard, so the wet spot gets partial shade in the first part of the day--doesn't help w/ the wetness. Had to mow today (it had been a week since it was last mown) and it was the absolute worst--runny mud.....

I appreciate your time and effort on this one, you always seem to have some very good suggestions regarding landscaping!

Ooo! How do you like willows?

There are some nice shrubby types that would do nicely there.
Salix repens var. argentea is a silver-leaved ground-hugging willow that tolerates heavy clay soils (no shortage of that here) and a great deal of wet. Might be hard to find locally, though.

I think I have it (or something much like it- there are sooo many similar willows!); if you decide you need it, I can probably part with a division or two!

Sorry for the delayed reply, I didn't get online at all yesterday...

I hadn't thought of willows at all, let me do some research on those and then get back to you. Might be a great idea, thanks for the help!

Another thought:

there are lots of Carex species (sedges) that flourish in wet conditions. They are grassy, so you might not think they are much of an improvement on turf you already mow, though.

But, there are several selections that are variegated. That may give you enough excuse to let them get tall and skip mowing them without feeling bad or having neighbors complain about "unmowed grass."

Image of Carex morrowii 'Ice Dance' on this page: http://www.bosmaboomkwekerij.nl/sortiment/vas-gra.htm

Love that page MG I will check those sedges out too, never know, if I don't have to mow it, might work out okay.