Home » Misc » Small sloped garden design ideas

Small sloped garden design ideas


10 Sloping Garden Ideas: Landscaping tips for a tricky space

Looking for sloping garden ideas?

No garden is completely flat, unless a digger has been in and levelled the site. Many gardens are on a slope, which, when initially viewed, can be a little daunting.

Many questions are raised, such as what happens if it rains heavily? Will there be erosion of soil? Will the soil dry out? What plants can I grow? What is the easiest solution for getting from the bottom to the top? And, of course, many more. 

But a slope can add real interest to a garden and create a character all of its own. 

Here are some great garden ideas to inspire your next project on a slope.

Sloping garden ideas

1. Add stone walls for interest

(Image credit: Future / Polly Eltes)

Garden wall ideas can provide interest by creating terraces with steps built in. The walls will create small pockets to grow alpines and drought-resistant plants, and will provide a backdrop to the plants.

2. Create a defined route

(Image credit: Future / Mel Yates)

Position steps at alternate ends of each terrace to create a defined route or pathway through the garden. Clever garden path ideas will add interest and tease you on to the next level. 

3. Create a unique garden path with edged borders

(Image credit: Future / Annaick Guitteny)

Define the edges of borders with a metal or plastic border edger, or a line of gravel setts. This will outline the spaces, and, depending on the material chosen for the pathways, will contrast beautifully for a unique garden decor idea, too.

4. Don't be afraid to experiment

(Image credit: Future)

Mix up the planting, with vertical spires and mounds for a more dynamic effect, and don’t be afraid to place a taller, fuller plant towards the front of a border.

5. Plant ornamental grasses

(Image credit: Future / Annaick Guitteny)

Ornamental grasses are perfect for slopes. If you're wondering how to grow ornamental grasses, most prefer well-drained soils, and the added angle of the slope will provide a cascade effect when the wind blows them.

6. Plant according to your space

(Image credit: Future)

When you think about how to plan a garden, it's important to consider the soil. 

Towards the top of the slope the soil will inevitably be drier than at the bottom, and a simple soil test will help identify the soil texture, which will influence the range of plants. The soil could even be acidic towards the top and more alkaline towards the bottom, or vice versa.

7. Consider the cost of terracing

(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton )

Work within your budget and be realistic. Creating terraces is a lot of work and can be expensive to achieve. But cheaper options, such as retaining walls from sleepers rather than stone, will help keep down the costs.

8. Avoid a perfect lawn

(Image credit: Future)

It just isn’t achievable to keep the perfect lawn on a slope. It is difficult and can be dangerous, especially when dealing with machinery, such as strimmers and lawn mowers.

9. Go for the simplest solution 

(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton)

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best. Marking out borders on a slope can be tricky, but it can be done. 

Plant these up with a good mix of self-naturalising bulbs, such as Narcissus, Scilla and Galanthus; groundcover plants with fibrous root systems, such as Geranium, Calluna; herbaceous perennials like Pachysandra, Lamium, creeping Phlox and shrubs such as Cotoneaster, Forsythia and Ceanothus.

10. Be cautious of laying lawn on a slope

(Image credit: Future)

'To mow a lawn on a slope is very difficult indeed, so why not opt for leaving the grass to grow longer, which is brilliant for wildlife or perhaps sow a wildflower meadow mix onto bare soil,' advises TV Gardening Presenter, Landscape Designer and Writer, Mark Lane .  

'In no time at all the flowers will be up and the slope will look incredible. For the steeper slope consider laying wildflower turf, which already has the wildflowers growing within it'.

What do you do with a garden on a slope?

(Image credit: Future / Annaick Guitteny)

There are numerous way you can plan, plant and design a garden on a slope. Use clever design to transform an awkward space into an ideal outdoor area, even if it is not level.

Sloping gardens present lots of different opportunities for planting schemes, from whimsical and wild, to formal and regimented. 

Whichever style you choose, do bear in mind that a sloping garden always benefits from experimenting with plants of different heights. If you're looking for garden shade ideas, a few mature trees or even palm trees offer coverage and look great in combination with ornamental grasses, shrubs, and border plants. 

How do you make a garden on a slope?

(Image credit: Future / Veronica Rodriguez)

First and foremost, you must think about materials. This is purely down to personal choice, but consider hard standing materials such as a riven paving or a slab with a rough finish or gravel for level pathways. 

With a slope, there will be more rainwater run-off, so provide adequate slip-resistance underfoot. Of course, flower bed ideas such as borders filled with glorious plants will soak up the majority of the water, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

What can you plant on a steep slope?

You may think you are limited to what you can plant on a steep slope, but in fact, you have an abundance of options, according to Mark Lane.

'If a slope is not seen as a problem, then many plants can be grown on an angle, while at the same time stabilising the soil. Of course, plants will always grow upwards and outwards, so even a plant with a vertical spire, such as foxglove or Digitalis, will grow straight and not at an angle (in most cases). 

'Groundcover plants such as the greater periwinkle or Vinca major, or climbing plants like ivy Hedera colchica ‘Dentata Varegata’ are perfect for stabilising the soil.  

For very steep slopes, coconut matting can be pegged down on top of the soil and then planted up through the matting. Over time, the matting will decay, but the plants will still be there.'

Should a garden slope be terraced?

(Image credit: Future / Mark Bolton )

According to Mark Lane, there should be level areas (terraces) cut into the slope with steps or ramps linking each terrace, with retaining walls to hold back the soil. 

'By introducing these level areas, borders can be created on the flat, and depending on how often and how many terraces are put in (which is a personal choice at the end of the day) can create a tiered garden to great effect. 

It also means that gardening on these terraces is easier as there is no awkward bending or leaning to get the right angle or the right standing or sitting position.'

How to Garden on a Slope: 12 Ideas for Hillsides

Turn uneven ground into a lush garden with these landscaping tips

By

Marie Iannotti

Marie Iannotti

Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. She's also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Marie's garden writing has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide and she has been interviewed for Martha Stewart Radio, National Public Radio, and numerous articles.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 09/28/22

The Spruce / Marie Iannotti 

A slope or hillside can be intimidating when landscape planning. They're also challenging to walk on and work on. Gardening on a slope additionally comes with the risk of soil runoff. Since water naturally runs downhill, it's a good idea to stabilize a slope with contour rows, terraces, or raised beds.

However, hillsides also have some built-in advantages. You have an instant view, and creating a dynamic sense of movement with plants positioned on a hill is easy. This resourceful gardener used the contrasting plant textures of the conical evergreens, spiky flowers, flowing ornamental grasses, and rounded shrubs to animate the garden. The scene is kept moving by a river of silver lamb's ear that runs the length of the bed.

Also, if you're landscaping on a budget, consider groundcovers that will give you a carpet of green along the slope. Incorporate a flower garden on the hill by selecting hillside flowers and vegetation that like to grow in crags and crevices, or on a slope, like sedum, rock cress, creeping phlox, and sweet alyssum.

Click Play for Hillside Landscaping Ideas

Retaining Your Sloped Garden

Retaining walls are how you keep dirt from washing away on a slope. Soil erosion is bound to happen with water and gravity doing the dirty work. But you can add wood, rock, or concrete block to make a retaining wall to hold the soil in place. You can also stagger retaining walls to build a tiered garden on a slope.

Consider installing a retaining wall if you have a steep slope of over 50% or 45 degrees. When installing any retaining wall, add a good drainage system behind the wall to prevent the wall from cracking or collapsing.

multi-level landscape design ideas with photo

For home

Explore landscaping ideas for a sloping garden and turn a sophisticated backyard into a beautiful and functional space.

Planner 5D

• 5 min read

Finding sloping garden ideas may seem daunting at first. But it turns out that gardens on a hill can be not only beautiful, but also functional. Such a landscape can offer you many opportunities that simply do not exist on a flat site. Yes, it will take a little more planning and a professional approach when it comes to retaining wall and drainage calculations. But as a result, you can become the owner of one of the most amazing sites.

Choose from modern plans that include tiered levels, retaining walls and water features. Or opt for more plant beds, sloping paths and babbling streams. Even safety essentials such as safety railings, steps and drains can be unique design elements that will add a special touch to your backyard.

Do-it-yourself slope reinforcement

Don't despair if you land on a slope. Just properly strengthen the slopes, and your site will be transformed. To reinforce sloping earthen surfaces with your own hands, use our tips:

A slope ready to be reinforced can be planted with small fruit trees and shrubs, thus creating a garden where space is required.

Important: never plant tall trees on an unstable slope, in strong winds they can be pulled out of the ground along with the roots.

If the slope of the uneven place exceeds 8-10 degrees, you can dig in the base of the reinforcing material deeper. For large slopes, the recess for fortifications can reach one meter.

Place to relax

A sloping garden can offer many functional ideas. For example, you can arrange a place to rest in a "shelter". If you prefer to admire the views from a height, a terrace for relaxation is best done at the top of the site. If it is supposed to rest in the shade, then the lowland and the northern slope are an excellent option for arrangement.

The terrace can be built with retaining walls. They will create a natural boundary and help with zoning. Even small walls will give backstage and isolation to the zones, protect them from wind, noise and fuss. A recreation or barbecue area becomes very cozy, limited by a smooth arc of the retaining wall, which can be immediately supplemented with a stationary bench.

Retaining walls can easily be used as built-in lounge chairs and flower pots, so consider the number of guests carefully. Decor can be as simple as possible: try a combination of stone and wood.

Curved elements

Slopes do not have to be leveled - they can give you an opportunity for interesting design. If the garden has a gentle slope, most of it can be covered with turf. On one side of the slope, you can create many multi-level flower beds. They will rise in sync with the slope, and a ladder will pass through them. The geometric severity of the cascade of flower beds can be diluted by the smooth bends of the bench. Together they create an organic, pleasant atmosphere.

Small terrace series

Sometimes you can level the entire garden, but you end up with a big difference in height on one side or at the end of the lot. There is an alternative approach. In the garden, you can design a series of small terraces.

The slope is removed by installing raised bed sets, where you can grow not only flowers, but also vegetables or herbs. It will look functional, stylish, and small levels add visual appeal to the garden.


Add steps

A simple staircase built from blocks, wooden sleepers, or decking is fine, but can take up valuable ground space. Instead, opt for some prefabricated metal steps. Not only can they look original, but they are also a great choice if you like our modern garden ideas.

Elegant and pleasing to the eye can also be obtained by installing steps close to a slope planted with plants. This is a practical and elegant solution for a sloped garden. The secret is to make sure that each step is the right size for comfortable ascent and descent. Think carefully about the choice of materials and how they will affect the final look.


Use gabions

Retaining walls are the key to sloping garden terrace ideas and can be bright garden wall ideas. There are many options available and they vary greatly in cost and installation. Block walls, plastered or uncoated, will require careful planning and preparation, as well as carefully dimensioned drainage channels.

Stone-filled gabions such as the one pictured are a convenient solution as they are not only strong enough to support heavy mounds of soil, but also look attractive and, most importantly, rainwater permeable. Gabions vary in size from 0.5m to 2m wide and can be made from rigid welded mesh or flexible braided wire.

Tiered vases

Dividing a garden with a steep slope into tiers should not result in hard, straight lines dividing the space. There are many clever ways to soften and blur those divisions, especially if you're looking for small garden ideas.

One way is to use stepped pots. They can be built into your landscaping or added as freestanding containers.

Show plantings

A garden that rises above your house or patio is a great opportunity to showcase beautiful plantings. Keep your landscaping ideas to a minimum - flights of stairs will tie the space together without detracting from the plantings. Add layers of shrubs and trees for year round form and structure. Then fill in the gaps with vibrant and textured perennials and ornamental grasses. And also use climbing plants over fences to complete the look.

Rock garden

Let the beauty of natural stone and Japanese gardens inspire you to transform a dull hillside. Make small gravel paths, rocky curbs planted with low-growing alpine plants, azaleas and conifers. They provide a beautiful landscape all year round. In addition, the Japanese rock garden creates a calming mood.

Landscaping an uneven site: how to design a complex site with a slope, hills and holes

There are a number of landscaping ideas that will look odd on flat terrain. Or they will be expensive. So it is a site with a difficult terrain in some cases - good luck. How to dispose of an uneven area "wisely"?

B.DeMichele Inc.

Let's define the terms
To define the "flatness" of the site, the term "surface slope" is used. It is calculated in ppm (yes, the same ones that are used to measure the strength of alcohol). A slope of one ppm means a lowering of the surface of 1 mm per 1 meter of length. For example, for a normal flow of water in theory, the slope should be from five ppm. However, in practice, during construction, slopes of 10 ppm are usually laid on this.

Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC

Irregularities can also have a local character - for example, pits or hills. Consider how you can use different options in the landscape.

Chris Snook

Option 1: Relatively flat area with "hole"
If a sharp drop in relief is a pit, then most often it is simply filled in. But you can beat it in the project: a pond or a recreation area will organically fit into the depression, as in the photo.

ABOUT THIS…
Drowned Garden: Sounds intriguing, but it's actually quite simple

Roxas Architectural and Landscape Bureau

In the photo: a local depression of the relief was used to create a reservoir. The lowering is decorated with slopes. It can be seen that the garden is in the process of being created, but it feels like it will be beautiful

studio falù

In the photo: German landscape project - the recess was such that it was easier to put the house inside it

ABOUT THE PROJECT WITH PHOTO…
Houzz Germany: The hill into which the house was sunk 9003 9003 An interesting solution could be the organization of a semi-underground cellar - we build walls, a roof, we fill the space remaining from the pit with earth. On the roof of the dugout, you can break a flower garden of ground cover plants, then the cellar from the side will be invisible. The main thing is to correctly calculate the structure of the building so that it can withstand the weight of the earth.

Weltevree

ABOUT THIS…
In reserve: What you need to know about building a cellar

Important: Pits on the site are often heated by groundwater, rainwater accumulates in them. Therefore, when using them in a project, do not forget to install pumps with filters and divert water from the sites to the storm drain system. When constructing low buildings, be sure to consider drainage.

Option 2: Relatively flat area with hill
A more common occurrence on the site is a convex irregularity, that is, a hill. Hills grow after digging a foundation pit for the foundation of a house, remain in the form of overgrown construction waste dumps . .. But such seemingly unnecessary "heaps" can also be used.

ETs Ekopochva-LD

For example, arrange a rockery. Or disassemble one large hill into several small ones, recultivate them with a fertile soil mixture and sow them with a lawn. Get a minimalistic picture. You can create a retaining wall around the hill, and cut off one of the slopes, put a stone bench there, build a hearth and enjoy the fire in the evenings, while being hidden from prying eyes.

Francis Landscapes

In the photo: the spa complex is inscribed into the existing relief . Thanks to a successful combination of architecture and geoplastics vacationers are completely invisible from the outside - they are hidden by a lawn on a hill

Wagner Hodgson

In the photo: minimalistic landscape design of an uneven area You can’t call such a solution completely natural, but it has its own charm. Sometimes you don't need to complicate anything to get a light and contemplative landscape

Roger Washburn Landscape Architecture

In the photo: an example of geoplastics on a complex terrain. Existing irregularities were reclaimed, a step-by-step path was made in the recess, and the bend was emphasized with hosts

Junckerhaven

In the photo: hills in this area could already be or turned out after digging a foundation pit under a reservoir - who knows? But the land was not taken out and the site was not leveled, but an interesting relief was made

KOKENIWA Japanische Gartengestaltung

In the photo: an example of geoplastics on the roof. But who is stopping you from repeating this composition on your hill that has been interfering for a long time?

Margie Grace - Grace Design Associates

Tip: Look at the work of Japanese gardeners. With what tenderness and accuracy they treat any uneven terrain, how masterfully they fit all the functional zones into existing pits and bumps, not comparing them, but, on the contrary, emphasizing them.

KOKENIWA Japanische Gartengestaltung

Modulor

Option 3: Flat ground
There may also be different options. For example, a plot is flat on a plane, but this whole plane is inclined. In such cases, the territory is most often terraced: buildings are built on one flat terrace, and a garden is planted on the other. At the same time, there can be several terraces, and they can be of various complex shapes. The place of the height difference is either set rigidly - by retaining walls, or softly - by a slope device.

RELATED…
Retaining Walls: How to Use Them on a Difficult Site

Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC

Retaining walls are used all the time in our gardens. But slopes are not very common. And in vain! If there are several terraces on the site, the abundance of retaining walls may seem too deliberate. But the slopes are not so noticeable and also cheaper in execution. You can plant a lawn on the slopes (if the slope is sharp, it is better to sow the lawn in a special lawn grid). You can create an interesting uneven composition of trees and shrubs. You can arrange a stream or a whole cascade. In this context, flowing water will be very organic - much better than the option on a completely flat lawn.

Field Landscape Architecture

In the photo: the slope can be designed not only in a landscape style, but also in a regular one. In this case, it may be recommended to reinforce the slope with a lawn grid, hiding it under colored mulch

Roger Washburn Landscape Architecture

Pictured: slope option for classic gardens in the English style

SeARCH Architecture and Urban Planning

02

SeARCH Architecture and Urban Planning

02 a conceptual building that fits perfectly into the existing uneven landscape. Grandiose views are provided to the owners!

Motionspace Architecture + Design

Pictured: a plot on a slope. Smooth terraces with a house and a sports ground are connected by a slope. Stairs and no walls!

In the photo: an example of the use of various terracing methods: both a wall and a slope. Moreover, the wall is structurally connected with the structure on the lower terrace

Keith Willig Landscape Architecture, Inc.

Small sections of retaining walls can also be cut into the slope to organize a recreation area. And the slope in the playground area is a godsend! This is a ready-made slide, a base for a bungee or a mini-climbing wall for kids ... And unlike a retaining wall, a fall from a slope will be less traumatic (and some children even love to roll down them “sausage downhill”).

Important : Drainage must be laid in the crest and at the base of a large slope - either in the form of a trench filled with crushed stone, or in the form of a drainage pipe with a device for overflowing water from the top of the slope to the bottom.

NM design

In the photo: a children's complex on a relief. A hilly playground is always more interesting and at the same time fits better into the design than a purchased playground

Wentworth Landscapes

In the photo: climbing hill

Pacific Resource Brokers

Pictured is an example of using a slope as a playground. We save on a separate playground and earthworks, and as a result we get a natural landscape with useful content

Shorewood Homes, Inc.

In the photo: an example of a country house inscribed in a slope: the lowering is involved, the building has a variable number of storeys. At the same time, the relief of the site is preserved. As a result - the cost of developing an individual project of a private house n on uneven ground and savings on earthworks during construction

Iconic Homes

In the photo: another example of a building on a slope: the use of pile foundations reduces the cost of construction, while maintaining the existing relief

There are areas with a gentle relief through which the inflection of the earth's surface passes. That is, at the junction of two not very inclined planes, a depression is formed - a ravine. This happens if the site is located along the drain line. The slope may not be very noticeable to the eye (and even when walking), but during the melting of snow or during autumn showers, water will descend along the drain line. Such a variant of complex terrain requires especially careful calculations. Any mistake can lead to the fact that the built house will crack or float away, there will be water in the basements, and the orchard will never please with a good harvest.

ONE!CONTACT-Planungsbüro GmbH

In the photo: a garden on a difficult site - in a drain. The slopes are reinforced, but there are no strict retaining walls. Backfilling with crushed stone at the foot of the slope protects the “channel” from erosion and serves as external drainage. A pond with a cascade in such a lowland looks very organic

Titov Brothers Workshop

In particularly unlucky cases (when clay soils do not allow spring water to soak in, and the strip foundation of the fence is made without a drainage pipe, and there is simply nowhere for water to go) in the lowlands, the soil becomes acidic and covered with moss…

When working with such an area, it is important to understand in time that it is problematic. To do this, look at the soil in the spring, ask around the neighbors. Doubts arose - call geologists and order a geo-substructure. These relatively small expenses can save you from many problems in the future.

It is most often useless to fill up the drain line with earth: the water passes through this place, as if through a gutter, and this gutter begins very far away. Only surface runoff will bury itself in the embankment, it will not stop groundwater ... The only right solution for such areas is the installation of a drainage and drainage system, as well as the competent location of capital buildings. The drainage line itself can be designed as a stream - since the water itself has chosen this place, you can play along with it.

Secret Gardens

Option 4: Extremely difficult terrain
Gardens on the slopes with access to your own pier or over a cliff - for a gorgeous view from the top terrace. It would seem that such a slope should definitely be terraced and dissected by many stairs. However, different approaches are also possible here.

If the garden is "species" and is intended only for contemplation, the slope can not be redrawn. It is enough to arrange one large terrace to accommodate buildings, and clear the rest of the territory from dead wood, chaotic undergrowth and garbage vegetation. Ennoble, decorate with large boulders and sculpture, conduct landscape lighting and leave for admiring sunsets / sunrises.

The Garden Company

If a descent is required on an uneven site, you can not only “cut” the ground into even terraces, but alternate slopes with retaining walls to diversify the picture. Or decorate the slope with a serpentine path. I personally really like this solution: each turn of such a path creates a new viewpoint, reveals a unique picture that will hide around the corner. This is a very exciting game! On the turns of the track, you can put various platforms, like beads on a thread. And this approach will also be more economical: due to the lengthening of the route, the slope softens, and you can do without stairs and retaining walls.

Secret Gardens

Important: The surface of the sloping path must be rough (so as not to slip and fall down), and a drain is arranged along the path (options - an open gutter, a tray closed with a grate, or an underground storm drain with periodically installed storm grates ). The path should be well lit and have railings at least in particularly sharp places.

Photographer Mark Kozhura

In the photo: an example of using different types of cover to organize a descent - and tiles and backfill using sleepers as steps, and wooden flooring for a gentle descent, and stairs. Such a technique diversifies the monotony of a long descent

Architectural Bureau "Designus"

Instead of conclusions
Do not rush to level everything to the state of a football field.

Learn more