Where is the water coming from? Based on this photo, it looks like you might be receiving the run off from your neighbor's driveway? (I see the basketball goal on the other side of the fence, so assuming there is pavement there) You might be able to talk them into helping with the cost since it is their water.
If you don't need pedestrian access to this area, I would build a dry creek bed down the middle to control the water and send it where you want it to go. Then plant the edge with plants, either decorative grasses (big and little blue stem), juniper (as someone else suggested) and other things that will root well and hold the soil in place.
You will need to use some stones bigger than the little one that are littered on the ground there.
I'd seed that area below the retaining will with a prairie/meadow seed mix and let those grasses and perennial plants take over. It is a lot of work to get started, but worth it in the end.
In reply to BFH_Garage :
Water washing down that hill comes from the neighbor's driveway (~10%), my front yard (~40%) and from the gutter downspouts on the front/side of the house (~50%). Extending the downspout drains down to the property line is an obvious first step. In fact, all the downspout drains are problematic -- several dump upstream of the wooden retaining wall and are washing out the soil that's behind it. D'oh!
In the photo, the 'swale' filled with small river rock that previous owners installed is worthless. I'd like to have turf on that area, if possible (or a very low ground cover). My top preferences for that spot right now are 1) to add some 6x6 step-downs and fill dirt to help slow the water or lay a layer of geo-cell so that I can lay sod over it. Here's an example photo swiped from Google:
I'd also like to reclaim as much of the yard as possible for my four kids to play in. Ideally, that would mean a new retaining wall along the bottom of the property and filling in the bowl to take as much slope as feasible out of the area below the existing retaining wall.
I'd like to DIY this project as much as possible, but just getting the material down there is a problem due to the slope and lack of easy access to the back yard.
You need to slow the water.
Step 1- redirect the downspouts. That cuts the water in half. Run pipes down to a low area or bottoms so the water can sit ir move slowly.
After that, I'd get a truckload of rip-rap. That's big stones- 6-8" in diameter. I'd build a couple "decorative" rock islands that forced the water to zig-zag down the hill, or trickle through them.
Then sod in between the rip-rap islands.
It's very DIYable, much less expensive than that geo mat, and will reclaim reasonable chunks of yard for your kids to enjoy.
The trick is don't try to STOP the water. You want to SLOW it.
Any kind of hardscape retaining structure (retaining wall, railroad tie terrace, etc) runs the risk of water getting behind it and undermining the structure.
You want to build something that lets water run through it and around it slowly (which is tricky on a grade that steep)
Do a google image search for gabion. It is a wire mesh container that you fill with rocks. You can use chain link fence if you want.
In reply to nderwater :
Clarify something....
You asked about erosion control.
Many of the responses are about terracing (which is more like leveling out the area and reclaiming some of it as more flat area)
Which are you looking for?
Any form of terracing (or walls, or gabion) will cost more than erosion control. But it will also give you more usable yard.
Both. Priority one is stopping further erosion damage to my side yard and behind the existing wooden retaining wall. While investing the time and effort to do that, I might as well work on making more of the yard usable for my family since literally none of it is flat right now (place a basketball anywhere and it will roll down into the woods) and the bottom is covered with trees and brush.
My house sits a on a lot like yours, except a little more "natural forest" looking. Drives me crazy but not enough to do anything other than machete the ivy a couple times each year.
A few years ago I got inspired and googled "Georgia DOT + erosion control" and then ordered some seed in the variety that is effective around here. Cost nearly nothing. Your post and this reply is a good reminder for me to find that seed and toss it on the hill.... since I never did LOL.
I would sooner sell the place and move than build a giant wall in the back to create a yard that needs to be maintained (that kids might use for a couple years).
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to nderwater :
Clarify something....
You asked about erosion control.
Many of the responses are about terracing (which is more like leveling out the area and reclaiming some of it as more flat area)
Which are you looking for?
Any form of terracing (or walls, or gabion) will cost more than erosion control. But it will also give you more usable yard.
I suggested terracing first, but maybe I used the wrong term. Nothing with a retaining wall, just a wavy shape to the slope that slows the water and forces it to change direction. This is a technique that's been used by people with shovels for thousands of years and cost can easily be replaced with effort.
Personally, as a kid, I'd probably love that steep yard. Far more potential for playtime. But that's based on a few pictures on the internet.
My yard is very similar to yours and I deal with the same issues. Nothing at all I did worked except Monkey Grass. That stuff is a water sucking wonder. You do have to trim it back in the spring and weed it once or twice a year, but other than that, it sucks up all the water mother nature throws at it. I lost maybe 4 to 6 inches of ground dirt in runoff until I had this stuff planted. Some people don't like it, but hey, if they had slope issues, they would definitely change their minds!
Thanks Dave. We've used liriope as border for our flower beds at previous homes, but I've never seen it used for slope stabilization or runoff mitigation. Do you mind sharing a pic of how you've used it?
In reply to nderwater :
This is the only pic I have on my phone. It is sloped more on the other side of the yard, but the patches are similar.
