Gardening Tip - Dealing with Slopes

      Ah, life is good here in San Diego.  The sun, the sand, the great weather, but unless you live in Coronado or another beach town, there is another constant that tens of thousands of San Diego gardeners have to deal with; slopes. Back yard slopes, front yard slopes, big slopes, little slopes, endless rolling slopes all over the county. 

      In San Diego there are 3 types of slopes.  The first type is called a bunny slope.  Bunny slopes are those easy slopes that you skied on when you were a kid.  Bunny slopes are 5 to 20 degree slopes that you can walk up and down without having to hold onto anything.

      The second type of slope is called a cowabunga slope.  Cowabunga slopes are those steeper inclines that teenagers go snowboarding down yelling “COWABUNGA!!!!!” as they rip and shred everything in their path.  Cowabunga slopes are in the 25-60 degree range and require some type of aid (railing, fence, etc.) for you to hold onto in order to go up and down the hill.

      The last type of slope in San Diego is called a Geronimo slope.  Geronimo slopes are so steep (65-90 degrees) that all you can do is strap on a parachute, jump off and yell “GERONIMO!!”  Those types of slopes require an engineer to build a really good wall. 

       In the next 3 articles I will talk about what plants are great for slopes and how to plant them.  So stay tuned!