Landscaping help for sloping steps

Jarrod
by Jarrod
I have thess long concrete steps that were built a long time ago by my father. At first it was just surrounded by grass, and then my mother put alyssum plants in. Well now that I own the house, she took the alyssums with her and I was left with dirt surrounding the steps.

Given the rain storms, I have experienced soil erosion.

I was wondering if river rock or a similar rock foundation would be adequate for landscaping the steps. Or is there any other options? Personally I am looking for low maintenance and do not wish to plant alyssums again.
  6 answers
  • Patsy Price Patsy Price on Jun 10, 2018

    I think you can do river rock, depends how deep it has washed. You my need something larger. If you do decide on rock, flatten some boxes, lay on the ground, put the rocks on top of the cardboard and grass will not come up thru your rocks.

  • Jarrod Jarrod on Jun 10, 2018

    This is the first real storm wash. It has only been dirt for a month. So the deposit by the door is just surface mud only 1/8" deep.

  • Janice Janice on Jun 10, 2018

    You might try planting some varieties of sedum. They are low growing and can help the soil stay in place, and often they are planted in rock gardens with sloping areas to keep soil from eroding. Easy to grow and come back every year with very little care. Here's a link with some info. https://www.plantdelights.com/blogs/articles/sedum-varieties-stonecrop-autumn

    I would advise against placing rocks or mulch in the area as it will leech into the grass and be a pain when the lawn is mowed.

  • Shore grandmom Shore grandmom on Jun 10, 2018

    Why not get some sod and plant that. Get long stakes that look like giant staples to hold it in place. I used to live in an area that flooded frequently. Both our neighbor and us were putting in sod. We used the stakes and ours was fine, our neighbors sod floated down the street.

  • Cindy Hagemann Cindy Hagemann on Jun 21, 2018

    I would put in monkey grass - low maintenance and will keep the dirt in place and makes a nice edging for sidewalks.

  • Jarrod Jarrod on Jun 21, 2018

    I went ahead with river rock and sand. It's working pretty great as we just got another 24 hours of rainfall since the install this weekend.