Share
Garden is slopes down and soil is sweeping down. So, I want to know how to fix it. Please give me an idea. Thanks
Hello @jay66
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your sloping garden.
It is a bit tricky when it comes to redirecting water in your area. Some of the things you can do to slow down soil erosion is to build small retaining walls to slow down the flow of water so that it does not gather momentum. You can install French drains to divert water flowing down.
But before you take any action, I suggest studying how the water is flowing down your property. I then recommend engaging the services of a plumber and asking them about the retaining walls and French drains. They will be able to tell you if it is a viable solution as the water needs to be drained properly and in accordance with local council rules and regulations.
I also suggest having a look at this discussion - How to stop overflowing water from other properties? by @Barbara35
Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @diy_hausdesigns for their recommendations.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
Good Evening @jay66
Interesting problem 
Strangely I love sloping blocks, you get use them in all sorts of ways and it already looks like you have with the gardens.
As always, a couple of questions.
Q1 - How steep is your block and does it slope consistantly or flatten out anywhere?
Q2 - Major trees/shrubs Have you drawn a top down sketch of your yard and included these?
Q3 - Side profile of your block (sketched) Have you had a go at drawing it?
Q4 - How much soil has run down your block? (Photo of flow lines?)
When I was trying to decide on how to landscape and where/how to put in retaining walls the sketching really helped me solidify what I could do. The Major tress/shrubs are starting points as the already help bind your soil to the hillside and stop erosion. As @EricL has suggested it would be a good idea to talk a plumber to start with to help get an understand what may be needed at least.
Funneling water and slowing it can work well, it can also eat away at curves in the landscape creating more problems so channeling it may not work on its own. I have used Gabion walls to a huge advantage as it slows the water, retains the soil and also alows water to move through them. Maybe a mixture of retaining walls/berms and holding pond areas could work for you plus various shrubs and trees (shrubs as they grow fast, trees as they will bind soil better)
Stormwater update April 2024 shows how the berms, channeling, culverts and holding ponds plus gabion walls all worked during this last batch of intense rain. My block is nowhere near as steep as yours looks, but each block can be stepped through. Maybe instead of one flow path down your hillside you could have two or three, that way the force of the water is spread out and the impact is less intense.
Would love to see the sketches of your yard and also the things you definently want in the yard. (you dont have to be a good sketcher, all you need is circles for trees and scribbles for the shrubs you want ) Once you have them in your mind and that profile of the yard then you have a solid place to start with ideas.
Dave
Hi @EricL and @Dave-1 @@Dave-1 thank you so much for your replies.
I'm attaching a sketch of my garden. Previous owners have temporarily tried to fix the erosion issue by stacking numerous pot plants where there is no retaining wall.
The soil is currently held by lots of fruit tree roots which are indicated by circles in my sketch.
I want to find out how I can stop the soil from sloping and eroding down especially on the areas where there are no retaining walls. It looks line the only thing that is holding the soil in place right now are tree roots.
Good Evening @jay66
Perfect timing! lol Your problem definently can be solved with some Gabion Walls Serriously it looks perfect for some gabion styled walls as retaining walls. The reason I say perfect timing is that I have been prepping an area for a new gabion wall today.
The previous "wall" was some corrogated iron and three metal posts driven into the ground by about a foot if you were lucky.
I like your sketch! And it makes sense. It clarifys what it is. Do you want to keep it that way or modify it at all? I will be sketching mine up tomorrow tho I do have some "pretty sketches" of what I want. This is the first one with real measurments and spacings. Where I work out step spacings (width) anjd height of the steps plus height of the wall.
If you go through and have a look at my bookmarks on my profile or just search for "Gabion" you will find a fair few different types of retaining walls. I have used waste concrete and rubble to fill the cages. I have seen even bricks loose stacked in the cages that look quiet interesting.
The cages you can make yourself, my projects explain how to do so. Or you can actually buy them ready to assemble, and they are so easy to assemble! Jack 80 x 40 x 40cm Rectangle Landscaper's Plant Support Garden Gabion and they come in various sizes.
The cages dont need a base to be placed on other then a tamped surface or an undisturbed level surface.
Here is one of the projects, the others are all there as well. Large gabion retaining wall build to give you an idea on what they can do. Lots of lugging rocks but so worth it.
If you decide you are going to use them I am quiet happy to answer any questions. and give examples if I can on how to as I will be installing some in the next few weeks (need to decide on the premade cages or make my own) or maybe a mix of both.
Dave
Evening again @jay66
You have a bunch of rocks that you can use I just noticed Why lug them away if you can reuse them in the first place!
Dave
Hello @jay66
Thanks for sharing those extra pictures of your garden. It appears that a great deal of soil has been washed away and you can clearly see where the water has carved up deep channels in the soil. I think using a gabion wall as suggested by @Dave-1 is great way to control soil erosion.
However, I still encourage you to speak to your local plumber regarding the water runoff from your property.
If you need further assistance, please let us know.
Eric
You might also like
