New rock garden in front of shed.

I have an area in front of my shed that is a slope. My husband added dirt , rocks and old concrete to help support the shed. Now I want to plant something there to help hide the rocks and concrete. But I dont want it to be invasive and over take the shed. What are your suggestions?

Conditions? Sunny?

Do you want tall plants? Folliage vs Flowers?
Would you consider shrubs?
What sort of budget - do you need to grow the plants from seed e.g.?

No tall shrubs, something low growing. small budget.

For low upkeep on a sunny exposure, small shrubs are a nice way to go. I bought very small mugo pine & blue rug junipers for my hillside (documented on this forum) in 2005 and they are quite large now - not tall but wide.

Do you have sun? Do you want perennials rather than small/short shrubs? How much maintainance?

It is in a semi shade to sun area. it faces the west. I was thinking perennials. Maybe even a ground cover that is easy to maintain.

Blue rug junipers are a very low maintenance (and relatively inexpensive) ground cover.

Perennials - do you have enough sun for creeping phlox? Its spectacular in spring and
is a nice cushion of green the rest of the summer. But a brown mass in the winter. Another
nice blooming perennial that spreads well and would do well on your dry hill is ice plant.
It stays green over the winter and blooms very late into the fall. Either of these would go
from a small start to something like 3' in diameter plant when happy.

On my rocky hillside, I find the easiest least expensive ground covers are the sedums.
Angelina is my favorite. It is beautiful year round - it turns a bronzy orange/red in the winter
and then a light chartreuse yellow/green in the warm weather. I like the very short ones - you'll
need just a few small pots and pull them apart and push the stems into the soil.

Daylilies could be an option - inexpensive. They bloom but they do look a little ratty at the
end of the summer and you need to cut the flower stalks down to make things look nice after
they bloom.

There's also more classis rock garden plants - dianthus (another favorite of mine / all sorts of
species & cultivar options), arabis (a beautiful spring bloomer), drabas (not big spreaders but
they can gentley self seed) and perhaps helianthumum. The last is a spectacular spreader
when happy but I've not had good luck on my hill. They are thriving in a very hot dry location
near the house though. I keep trying.

I hope these give you some ideas. Maybe some others here can help too.

Tam

Thanks a lot. You gave me a lot of ideas.
I do agree with the day lilies. I am trying to figure out what I can plant with mine to hide the nasty stuff after they bloom.
I had even thought about Hosta's along with it, what do you think?
I like the sound of that ice plant. Just need to find it now...lol

You might have too much sun for hostas but there are some types that will take more than others. I have some in a little too much sun and the leaves burn. Ice plants / aka delosperma are getting popular around here. I find them easily at a nursery I go to in Lancaster County. I've also had success starting them from seed.

On the daylilies - I just give up and get out there and cut down the stalks. I don't think you can appreciate them if you have them behind something tall enough to cover them up!

It wont be too much sun. it only gets filtered afternoon shade. I already have ferns growing back in that area. I had English Ivy back there and I have been 2 years trying to kill it.
I agree with too high of plants with the day lilies. but maybe something lower growing.

I thought it was sunnier. My recommendations were based on decent sun. I'll think about plants that might do better with shade. (Sedum & sempervivum probably would do well for you there).

It is lovely all year - it turns a bronzy orange/red in the colder time of year
and afterward a light chartreuse yellow/green in the warm climate. I like the exceptionally short ones - you'll
need only a couple of little pots and pull them separated and drive the stems into the dirt.