Hi Dirt ....
>>>> Looks to me like you already have a rock garden, maybe just not one that pleases you so much.
Very true. I'm finding it hard to describe. The glaciers that created the Trinity Alps stopped at a higher elevation than where I am located and I am told this slope was created by glacier debris.
Mrs. J planted four types of juniper all across the slope and they have been there for about 50 years. I know they play a role in stabilizing the slope. They also hide the fact that there are small cliffs under them. (I found that out the hard way when I was pruning them and found myself hanging onto the junipers with my feet dangling in mid-air.) So what looks like just a solid mass going across has a few gaps ....
and it is a lot steeper than it looks. I cannot get up to that area from the bottom, but have to climb down.
They faced the slope with large rocks, kind of like a rock wall, but following the topography of the slope, so the stones behind the fence are more like a wall, but I doubt if they are holding the slope in place. It may be moving a bit, but not so much that I notice it.
The slope "breathes". In other words, during the rainy season it seems to hold water well enough that I never have to water the junipers even during the dry months of summer and I've never seen water running off of the slope. I've been told there are a lot of underground streams all through the slope, but they don't seem to have caused any problems.
There is very little soil on top of the rocks you see in the photos. I think that's why Mrs. J didn't plant much there. I've tried direct sowing some seeds in that area, but they did not germinate ... California poppy.
When I saw this forum, I started thinking I should do something there. I am such a novice that I can't even begin to figure out how to start.
What do you mean when you ask "What's the aspect?" ?
Smiles,
Lyn
