Plot with small slope for many novice gardeners is a real stumbling block in the regeneration of landscape design. But the more experienced garden designers, however, believe sloping land more interesting to create beautiful landscapes: the arrangement of sloping glades floral design cascades and Alpine slides, the placement of the terraces. And we will try to figure out what tricks they use to empty the hill to turn in the extraordinary flowering slope.
The contents
To create an elegant bed that will please its attractive appearance and do not require special trouble care, you must consider several points. The main features of inclined sections:
- The leaching of soil running down the slope with streams and streams of rainwater;
- The need for the arrangement of retaining walls and terraces;
- Differences in microclimate depending on the orientation of the slope relative to the cardinal points.
In areas having an inclination angle of 5-7°, to prevent the leaching of soil help small grooves. Dig them up in several corners of the flower bed, strengthen the walls, and then draw in the form of small ponds. Flowing in «pockets» water is useful for watering plants and soil moisture.
The optimal solution in the regeneration plots in 7-15° will be planting the lawn, the emerald grass which besides the decorative function will be the roots to keep the soil washing away by water flows.
When making less sloping areas with a slope angle of 20° and more the only solution will be the construction of terraces – horizontal sections, reinforced retaining walls.
Flower beds on slopes always look extremely impressive and picturesque, reminding the colorful carpet, sloping gradually down to the foot of the hills
The main problem of the arrangement of flower beds on the slope – the threat of soil erosion of rain and melt water. To successfully solve this problem by making the arrangement of the drainage system
Rock garden is a picturesque arrangement of plants and stones. Such a flower is a popular element of landscape design and is decorated with many suburban areas
If the arrangement of the Alpine slide on smooth surfaces, you also need to build a small hill, then with its location on a natural slope it is necessary to make only a minimum effort on the design of the natural landscape.
Flower gardens located on the slopes attractive because they are more visible and not so monotonous in comparison with flat compositions. Natural elevation changes help to accentuate the silhouettes of the plants planted on a slope.
Create a flower bed on a slope, as any other arrangement of flower beds, includes a number of key stages.
Selection of plants with regard to the cardinal points
When building a flower bed on a slope it is important to focus on its location relative to the cardinal directions. It is particularly important to observe this condition, if you are dealing with elevation, the slope of which is more than 10°. The location of the flower bed defines its climate.
The southern slope is the most warm and bright section of the hill. It is more warming sunlight. It’s faster in the spring the snow melts. But at the same time in the summer months, the driest and therefore may not be suitable for all plants.
Only on the southern slope of sun-loving flowers are able to show their decorative and splendor flowering heavily
On the southern and South-Western slopes it is best to break the stony flower beds – rock gardens and rockeries. For their design ideal dwarf varieties of ornamental shrubs: gorse dyeing, Euonymus, dwarf broom, St. John’s wort shrubby, creeping pine. Decoration of flower beds will make fluffy «pillow» sheep’s fescue and colorful rugs perennial Phlox.
Not to do when you make the rocky flower-beds on the southern slopes without sun-loving groundcover perennials: sanasuma, milkweed miraleste, eshsholtsiya, of iberis, pinks
The slope turned to the East and South-East, no less lit by sunlight. But the soil on it longer it can retain moisture. These comfortable, it would seem that conditions may be detrimental to awakening in early spring the plant: aerial part of the flowers baked under the scorching sun in that time, as basal area is not dry under the melted snow. On the North-Eastern and Eastern slopes will grow well: astilba, Aquilegia, dicentra and saxifrage.
The Western slope is more influenced by the wind. The soil on it quickly fades and dries up. For such a slope is better to choose a not afraid of wind and drafts drought-resistant plants. Well here fit povorotnyi: saxifrage, loosestrife, nettle, of waldsteinia, periwinkle.
Green spaces on the Northern slope, receiving insufficient amount of heat, are not very splendor flowering. On the Northern slope not so the moisture evaporates quickly. This creates ideal conditions for the cultivation of moisture-loving flowers. Comfortable it will feel as shade-loving and shade-tolerant plants.
Picturesque islets in the area of mid-tones will create a delicate Lily of the valley and anemones, expressive hydrangea and geranium, St. John’s wort and lungwort. And the astonishing volume will help the delicate foliage of ferns, and air clumps of Solomon’s seals and bergenia
In addition to orientation of slope relative to the cardinal directions it is also important to note that at the top of the flower garden the ground will always be drier than the bottom. So the plants in the bed have on the principle that drought-tolerant flowers planted in hills, hygrophilous, at the foot.
Protection of the slope from flooding
Rain water and spring floods are the main problem areas on the slope.
Streams flowing on the inclined surface of the flower garden, the water leaves behind its trace in the form of deep ditches, which eventually may turn into steep ravines
Along with the streams of water and washed away the fertile layers of soil. Therefore, one of the first tasks that should be resolved by the owner of a sloping plot, planning «break» the picturesque landscape is to establish the drainage system. For its arrangement you can apply one of two ways.
The first method is to dig groove-the drainage systems on the territory of the slope. Shallow «strip» are laid at a distance of 2-3 meters from each other. The role of wastewater can use the shallow basin, the bottom of which are lined with waterproof tape, and small storage tanks, the liquid from which it is convenient to use for watering plantings.
The second way is to equip «protective» drain, placing it above the flower garden. Such a drainage system is more suitable in that case, if the quality of wastewater is poor, for example: when on a section of the road. Ditches are laid along the perimeter of the site, placing them just above the beds so that the sewage does not enter the territory, and accumulated in a cumulative at the edges of ponds-accumulators.
When constructing a drainage system it is important to care about the appearance of storage tanks, decorate them on the outer edge of moisture-loving flowers or bushes dekorativnolistvennye
The strengthening of the soil in the flower garden
Sloping ground is a stunning scenic viewpoint, which is beautifully decorated flower garden always looks extremely picturesque and impressive. But the soil on the hills is often a thin layer of fertile soil, which also washed away by rain. To solve problems helps strengthen the soil by installation of retaining walls and construction of terraces. To enrich the soil composition on the site of the future arrangement of the flower garden by podsypanina imported topsoil.
The creation of terraces – an exciting and creative process. They can be placed in a row to place a skewed or staggered. The number and height of the terraces depends on the size of area and degree of its steepness
To contain soil and design of the terraces are perfect any natural construction materials: stones, bricks, concrete blocks, sheet metal and logs.
Below the retaining wall were successfully combined with the overall design of the site and harmoniously looked on the background of the slope, the materials for its design should be selected based on the stylistic direction of the whole garden. Flower beds with an emphasis on natural beauty will look spectacular framed by artificial or natural stone.
To create the effect of the natural landscape retaining wall in their arrangement a bit messy. Retaining walls can appear out of the ground, then gently merge with the terrain
For flower beds garden style is a modern brick decorated with elements of forging. When the design of the site, in a rustic and very picturesque look of the terrace, reinforced props, decorated in the form of a fence. Attractive support walls and simple design.
To strengthen the wall of the slope, it is only necessary to drive a few sturdy stakes, placing them at a distance of two feet from each other. Between vertically placed staves only have to twist the flexible young shoots remaining after seasonal pruning trees in the garden.
Sloping ground – the perfect base for flower beds. On improvised terraces plants feel very comfortable, and the elevation changes provide spectacular play of sun and color.
