In your plant selection, aim for a balance between beauty and practicality. The prettiest plant you find in a garden catalog will disappoint you if you grow it under the wrong conditions (too much shade or sun) or to serve a function it is not suited to serve. You also have to strike a balance between beauty and vigor, since you may not want to create a landscape-maintenance nightmare by introducing plants to your yard that are going to spread beyond the bounds you intend for them. Some of the best plants for erosion control will be too aggressive for some homeowners, so evaluate the selections on a case-by-case basis. Few landscaping issues are more pressing and more challenging than erosion control, particularly when you are trying to protect a steep slope from eroding. In addition to growing perennial ground covers and shrubs, such as deutzia, that will spread and strike down roots to retain soil, consider creating terraces. The average DIY’er is quite capable of making terraces via small stone retaining walls on a gradual slope, but, for steep slopes in imminent danger of eroding, the job is best left to pros.
‘Blue Rug’ (J. horizontalis Wiltonii): valued for its blue foliage J. horizontalis ‘Prince of Wales’: one of the shorter kinds, being just 6 inches tall J. horizontalis ‘Lime Glow’: for those who prefer yellowish-green foliage
Another of the convenient features of creeping myrtle (zones 4 to 8) is that it’s a drought-tolerant ground cover. Steep hillsides can be some of the least accessible areas of a landscape for homeowners, meaning that watering plants in such spots can be problematic. Plants that are naturally drought-tolerant take some of the pressure off you to care for them. Forsythia (zones 5 to 8, 4 to 6 feet tall) is one such plant, a shrub that flowers in early spring. The weeping form (Forsythia suspensa) can be a particularly good choice for retaining soil on a slope: Where the drooping branches touch dirt, they will strike down roots, thereby acting as ground covers.
