I am so glad I didn't have to plant the back slope. The previous owners really did all of the hard labor up there. Mrs. J planted 4 different kinds of juniper going across the whole slope, a white fir tree, a couple of forsythia bushes, some irises and the vinca. I think they covered most of the slope with river rock from the dredging piles. I call it the "danger zone" because there is no safe way for me to move around up there.
Since I had so much work on the other areas, I've hardly touched it, so what lives there is what she planted. I did throw up some California poppy seeds one year, but I guess there isn't enough soil for them to take or the rain washed them away. Some years the irises bloom and some years they don't. I don't climb up there to feed them or cut them back.
I've made so many novice mistakes, that I have had to start over in the other areas of the yard a couple of times. None of the roses have died, but none of the beds have the finished look I see in your photos.
I'm workin' on it.
Smiles,
Lyn
