What to plant on a steep slope to stop weeding and mowing
Deciding whether to leave a steep hill natural or plant ground cover is complicated by erosion risks, deep mulch requirements, and the need to prevent mower damage near patios. Homeowners struggle to find low-maintenance options that cover large areas without requiring constant manual weeding or risking damage from lawn equipment.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Leaving the area as it is naturallyDid this help you?
- 2Seed or sod all the way to the patio edgeDid this help you?
- 3Plant a couple hundred native plants and call it a day.Did this help you?
- 4Build a two tiered retaining wall.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I just had this project completed and am trying to figure out what to plant in front of the patio/ how deep the mulch bed should be given the slope.”source ↗
“I want to limit the constant weeding in such a large area.”source ↗
“I am wondering if I should leave it as it is naturally or plant something else there.”source ↗
“The hill is pretty steep. Especially off the curved edge of the actual sitting area of the patio. And I don’t want my mowing service to chip the edge with the mower.”source ↗
“the whole house is practically surrounded with it and I don’t know what to do at this point.”source ↗
“It is not very safe as in when it rains a lot the stones are falling down.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 11Backyard slope looks like a cliff — how to fix erosion and grading
- 4How to plant hedges on a rock wall or slope
- 5How to level a sloped backyard for a shed entrance
- 6How to mow a sloped or uneven lawn without slipping
- 3How do you build a fence on an incline?
- 5How to plan a front yard layout with sandy soil