Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: Shade tolerant plant to prevent erosion, 1 by CopperBerry

CopperBerry wrote:
Hello garden Gods! I am a new member, mostly new to gardening. I have a problem I'm trying to solve and could use advice on finding the right plant.

The situation: We just installed a French Drain along one side of our house. One side/edge of the trenched area is higher than the other, along its entire length. We have been advised to plant grass or something there to prevent soil eroding into the drain area, which will eventually clog the drain.

The area is mostly shady (shade from house, dappled light from 3 large trees -- a hickory and 2 oaks) in summer. In spring/winter it receives more sun. The area is about 35 feet long and 1-3 feet wide. The slope is minimal; it's actually mostly flat. The photo is before the rocks were put in the trench, but it shows the general area. We would be planting to the right in the photo; to the left will be large river rock.

We are planning a woodland garden for the surrounding area. We are in zone 6a (Southwest Missouri).

Aside from shade tolerant and helpful in preventing dirt from falling into the drain, I would prefer:

1. Something green all or much of the year.
2. Ideally something that will spread
2. Not too high maintenance
3. Something low growing
4. Something that will fit in with the look of a woodland garden and a mostly native plant aesthetic in this area (although there is one Japanese maple.)

People have recommended some kinds of grass, but the area is hard to mow. I generally dislike violets because they spread like crazy here and cannot be dug out, but I've wondered if they might work in this instance, because they spread and are low maintenance. But I don't know if they will prevent erosion.

Sorry for the long message! Any and all advise will be gratefully appreciated.

This message was edited Mar 13, 2014 3:51 PM