I have a very steep hill behind my house that consists of mostly thin, rocky soil. I would prefer to plant something that is pretty (flowers?) that is hardy and covers the ground well. I am thinking about a variety of phlox or possibly ivy. Thre is absolutely no shade in this area. I need to do something with this slope. It's ugly and a pain to tend. I was hoping to plant something decent and then weed wack it a couple times a year. Thanks for your feedback.

Native shrubs, grasses and flowers are perfect for a place like this!!! More and more ppl are turning to natives because they are sturdy. You can get very specific plants for specific places and this is where they naturally grow so they survive. There are native phlox but they do not spread near as much as the cultivated ones.

Often highway departments will plant crownvetch on hillsides because it is flowering and perennial and will grow anywhere. It would love the sun. I think the only problem with it is if you really need to contain it as it can be somewhat invasive - but no more so than ivy.

I would recommend Crown Vetch. It is hardy and easy to grow. It bears lavendar flowers. I have included pics of it from a distance and a close up of the blossom.


Crown Vetch pic:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fs earch%2Fimages%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dcrown%2520vetch%26y%3DSearch%26fr2%3Dtab-web%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501&w=500&h=375&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F54%2F15 0809595_2457b9390f_m.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fli ckr.com%2Fphotos%2Fabbydonkrafts%2F150809595%2F&si ze=203.6kB&name=150809595_2457b9390f.jpg&p=crown+v etch&type=jpeg&no=12&tt=511&oid=7a3191cb82d63e28&f usr=abbydonkrafts&tit=Crown+Vetch&hurl=http%3A%2F% 2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fabbydonkrafts%2F&ei=UT F-8&src=p






Close up:
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fs earch%2Fimages%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dcrown%2520vetch%26y%3DSearch%26fr2%3Dtab-web%26fr%3Dyfp-t-501&w=487&h=500&imgurl=static.flickr.com%2F15%2F22 367366_62afd63c3e_m.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flic kr.com%2Fphotos%2Ffoxwillow%2F22367366%2F&size=45. 3kB&name=22367366_62afd63c3e.jpg&p=crown+vetch&typ e=jpeg&no=4&tt=511&oid=a7c694ea5b8c075c&fusr=Helen Jr&tit=P6271688x+-+%28Ubiquitous%29+Crown+Vetch&hurl=http%3A%2F%2Fww w.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Ffoxwillow%2F&ei=UTF-8&src=p

www.Highcountrygardens.com

they have many ideas for you