Landscape architecture in Los Angeles is frequently complicated by hilly terrain. Yet there are many tasteful solutions to be found: creating terraces, arranging low retaining walls, constructing zigzag pathways, designing landings carved into the hillside, or planting dense, strong-rooted plants in staggered rows. Strong-rooted plants include Artemisia, ceanothus, cotoneaster, creeping mahonia (Mahonia repens), ice plants, juniper, rockrose, California buckwheat, Japanese buckwheat, and rugosa roses. On hillsides, it is important to install drip irrigation so plants get the amount of water they need without a lot of runoff. If you notice “ponding” on flat ground, this can mean poor grading or uneven soil settlement. Surface drains, berms, retaining walls, and terraces are all effective erosion controls. Here are several examples of well-landscaped hillsides. (Sunset’s Western Landscaping, 2006)
(1) A natural looking hillside with native plants and stone steps
(2) A rock retaining wall with dense planting
(3) Strong-rooted hardy plants such as Agave are great for hillsides
(4) A gravel pathway cuts through a hillside held up by natural rock and dense planting
(5) A terraced hillside with full-grown native planting
(6) A formal Italian hillside with stone walls, pillars, and stairs
(7) A natural looking hillside with stepping stones, wild flowers, and dense, colorful ground cover to prevent erosion
That was an artistic design. I am always in thought on how to make our hillside a much better looks and good design so that it won’t look nonsense. I think that's a good source of information, but I can’t do that; so I’ll just hire a gardener to fix our hillside yard.
Beautiful! Makes me wish I had a hillside to decorate, now!