Hillside Landscaping Specialists

Create A Practical & Powerful Outdoor Space

Like a gem can be cut and polished to reveal its natural beauty, so too can backyards with sloped terrain be shaped to showcase breathtaking natural features. However, knowing how to tackle a hilly landscape can present several unique challenges that require specialty landscaping knowledge. Because of this, yards and lawns with steep hills are often left as wasted space, but Vitoli Hillside landscaping specialists can turn them into aesthetically pleasing and usable landscapes.

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Challenges for Hillside Landscaping Design

Due to the particular challenges hilly terrain can present, it requires specially trained landscapers with knowledge and experience designing and working with this kind of landscape. Vitoli Hillside Specialists will work with you to get the job done right. Let’s go over some of these unique challenges our team is fully equipped to tackle:

Accessibility and Labor. Slopes, particularly steep ones, pose accessibility difficulties for work, especially because they are more challenging to reach than flat terrain. Because of this, backyard hillside projects often require more time and thus may increase costs. This is why it is crucial to hire hillside specialists who are used to working on sloped terrain. Vitoli landscaping specialists will have it done right and in a timely manner.
Irrigation. When plants on slopes are watered, it is important to keep in mind that water naturally flows downhill. For many plants, they require water to remain in their root zones, otherwise they cannot absorb it. Ensuring that plants are able to absorb enough water on a hillside requires special measurements. A hillside landscape with purposefully placed plants will lower both the maintenance and water it demands.
Erosion. Another challenge of a hilly backyard, this occurs when rainfall travels downhill. As it descends it carries topsoil, mulch, and other surface materials that you wouldn’t want washed away. This process can not only diminish soil quality and scatter debris across your yard, but also destabilizes slopes, creating a dangerous landscape.
Maintenance. Though there are steps that can be taken to mitigate some of the maintenance required by a hillside landscape, maintaining slopes often requires extra effort in comparison to flat terrain yards.

Solutions for Hillside Landscaping Design

Can you Flatten a Backyard HillBecause of the challenges mentioned above, many clients often express their desire to flatten slopes. Flatter land means a more level surface, which creates increased usable space for playing, dining, cooking, and other outdoor activities. This perspective is understandable, however, the logistics for this kind of project are often underestimated. Creating a flat area on a currently existing slope requires a larger amount of work, time, and money than many initially think. However, there are two existing solutions to create more level surface area in a hilly yard: Terracing and Building a Deck.

Terrace:Terracing creates a more level plane in the middle of a slope to increase usable space. This is accomplished through “grading,” in which soil is moved from one section to another. Typically, the uphill section of the terrace is cut directly into the slope, while this excavated soil is piled downhill. Then, retaining walls are installed on each side to retain soil and prevent erosion, thus maintaining stability.
Deck: Terracing is a viable option, but if you would like to avoid the process of grading, a deck is another great option. A raised platform constructed above a slope, a deck’s uphill edge is supported by the ground while tall posts anchored into the slope uphold the downhill edge.

Both approaches to create more level surface area in a hillside yard require a significant financial investment. It's important to consider this and not overlook this crucial factor during the initial design phase.

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Not to Flatten: Working With Your Backyards HillsFlattening hillside terrain in your backyard is not the only option for designing a beautiful, usable sloped property.

Plant for Aesthetics: Strategically placed foliage can work wonders for hilly landscapes. A well-designed planting scheme that balances plant composition and maintains aesthetics. This is done through incorporating focal points such as specimen trees and arrangements of shrubs and perennials while interspersing low, groundcover plants for open spaces.
Plant to Avoid Erosion: Slopes with bare soil are prone to erosion from rainwater. Strategic plant composition designs are not only for aesthetics, they serve an important purpose in preventing erosion and the dangers it can cause. Plant roots anchor soil in place, and the foliage itself can slow down water movement, which then encourages absorption. Bare soil on slopes is prone to erosion from rainwater. Plant roots help anchor the soil in place, while the foliage slows down the movement of water, encouraging its absorption into the ground. Similarly, strategically placed rocks can achieve a similar effect.
Create Play Areas: Similar to plants, strategically placed rocks can aid in preventing erosion. Sloped terrain with a transition into flat areas can incorporate stacked boulders or stumps. This can create an engaging play space perfect for climbing and scrambling around. It's even possible to embed a pre-made slide into a slope, seamlessly integrating play features into your backyards natural hilly terrain.
Terraced Planter Boxes: Slopes facing west or south are particularly sun exposed, and may be ideal for planter boxes to create a terraced vegetable garden, while flat space is maintained for other purposes.

Maximize Scenic Views: Your hillside property may have a hill with a more scenic view. Vitoli hillside specialists can work with you to identify a location balanced in accessibility and moderate slope angle to create a landscape design that highlights your backyards picturesque views.
Add a Water Feature: Natural slopes and rocky formations are ideal for creating scenic water features. It can create a serene atmosphere through enhancing visual and auditory and can provide water resources for lovely garden visitors such as migrating birds and butterflies.