Is this the best place to post this question, if not please let me know. I appreciate the help I received so far on Garden.org!

We have an eye-sore of a backyard and therefore never go out there. It's a strip of dirt/grass that slopes toward the back. The ground is hard as a rock. It's unlevel and rocky. We do weed-whack it every once in a while but it's truly an eyesore.

It's maybe 12' deep at it's widest. The slope really drops off so I'm really not looking forward to doing anything close to the edge.

What are some low-maintenance ideas? I won't be able to do a lot of the work myself so may have to bring a labourer or landscaper in.

Would a landscaper even bother with this type of area, though?

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm at a loss for what to do.

Thank you, everyone!

And you drop off into a beautiful forest!! Have you considered raised beds on a terrace with some sort of path way like a hairpin turn walking past your raised garden?

There was an episode on Netflix, I think the Monty Don show Dream Big, Small Spaces or something like that where they had exactly what you have. The owners changed Master Gardener Monty Don's idea but make nice tall raised gardens on a pathway with those pathways. Each bed was something different. flowers in front with some veggies tossed in. Ad the end of the path way (Cuz paths should always lead "somewhere"" was a sitting area.

There is a landscaping forum here on NGA that you might find of interest. You could also look out for some of John Brookes's books on garden design such as this one if you can still get it:

https://www.amazon.ca/John-Bro...

The landscape design forum here in NGA.
https://garden.org/forums/view...

Does the grass not grow well there because of shade, or do you prefer not to have to mow that limited space?

Just to be picky, Cheryl, Monty Don is not a Master Gardener, at least in the North American sense, as he has not had any formal horticultural training.

maybe the grass is very dry because of the dropoff- moisture draining and evaporating. It's a shame builders will build and leave a situation like this.
If you can afford, I would ask for a couple landscapers in person to visit and give ideas.
Maybe a path near the porch, and then about a five foot wide bed on the hill edge? I'm not sure what they can do at the far edge. Some sort of rock border? Whatever they would plant in the bed would have to tolerate dryness or have consistent watering. A planting would sort of transition to the woods and make the dropoff less obvious.

It does look like a difficult situation.

I would build a rock wall and path with stepping stones off the patio, starting where the dark chair is on the edge. Make the path obvious, and interesting. I would make the path curvy, with larger rocks along the way for interest, then have it lead to a little sitting area to the right where it's sunny- but you could put an arbor over it for a little shade.

I would decorate with pretty copper things, like butterflies or dragonflies. And then for color, I would have big pots with annuals, both on the patio and off! Shepards hooks are pretty to hold hanging baskets too.

If you didn't have access to rocks, use shrubs that you can shape along the way so that it looks serene. Sounds easy? Lol

Thank you for everyone's suggestions. It makes it seem not so hopeless as you've helped me visualize some nice ideas. I think the next step is to get a landscaper or two in....getting rock and soil in here will be difficult (stairs on side of house to get down here).

Landscapers can be a great help. They've been through similar situations and can offer such good advice. Good luck.

Find landscapers in your area, several and see what they say but they prefer you have some idea of what you want.
If the ground is stable, you could put in a retaining wall, boulder or timber and then raise the area to level.
Access to area will determine price and feasibility.

RpR said:Find landscapers in your area, several and see what they say but they prefer you have some idea of what you want.
If the ground is stable, you could put in a retaining wall, boulder or timber and then raise the area to level.
Access to area will determine price and feasibility.

True. I suppose a landscaper will want to know where our property line ends so I'll have to find that out first.

And also any utility lines underground, water sewer, ect.

These spaces can be tricky to improve especially being tucked into the edge and shaded by the trees/forest. I would definitely look into the right type of retaining wall to help support the edge and maybe having different gardens as Shady Green Thumb mentions above. I have spent a ton of money over the years with my landscaper so feel free to call him and mention that Trevor asked you to call his name is David and he would be glad to help you figure this out even if you are a million miles away. His site is shorethingex.com. Good link and please let us know once you do figure thing jam out, we would love to see the results.