This is our frightening back yard. It is mostly level at the top then drops pretty steeply down to a narrow lower section against our neighbor's fence line. Because the hill is so steep it is nearly impossible to maintain the overgrowth of plants, weeds, and vine that we have overtaking the hill. We would love some great ideas on how to make this space useful and pleasant to live in. I would love to be able to have friends and family over to enjoy our back yard and allow our children to play without fear of them falling down the hill. Help us discover a diamond in this ruff.

Extreme grades can be difficult. This is compounded by limited area. The best approach IMO would be to terrace the grade to make individual use areas. Just be carefull that you do not create a problem with runoff onto your neighbors property.

Runoff and drainage would also be my first concerns to be addressed before anything else. Is there ponding or puddling or water at the base of the slope? Can you actually stand and work at the base of the slope or do you sink in?

My sister's house had a similar problem. The yard was never prepared properly by the builder, rain water ran down the slope, puddled and made the base so unstable that a good 2 feet of it was treacherous.

If you don't have a drainage problem, there are a lot of possibilities for terracing. That's the first question to address.

Also, in what gardening zone/state do you live in? That makes a big difference in what you can plant on the slope. There are a lot of options, including making changes now or making them gradually.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GardenSprite,

I see a big retaining wall with lots of landfill and a chain link fence.

at the base of the hill, build a retaining wall...the wall is backfilled with proper clean stone and drainage pipe. Bring in fill dirt...fill in the void..fence on the top of the retaining wall..done deal.a more level back yard. It';s the only, and the best way