Terrace a Steep Garden

The main benefit of a terraced garden on a steep slope is that it stops the soil and rain water from running to the bottom of your garden. This means that the nutrients in the soil are kept in one place, and not taken away from your plants. If all of that is washed to the end of the garden, all that it's going to do is help weeds to grow - which no gardener wants.

Terracing is also a great way to seperate your plants from each other. For example, you could grow your flowers at the top, to give a pleasant view from the house, and your vegetables further down, out of sight (but not out of mind!)

There are many methods that can be used to terrace a steep garden, the most permanent (although also the most expensive) is to use stone walls. Other options include wooden walls - these will require more maintainence and must be regularly treated to prevent them from rotting.

Terracing your garden is not a simple task, it will involve a lot of time and effort, there's a lot of earth to be dug up! If you don't think you can handle the task by yourself, consider consulting a professional. Even if they're only involved in the planning stages, they can pay for themselves several times over when you *don't* have to start from scratch if it all goes wrong.