Steep banks can cause quite a problem:

• If grassed they can be difficult / impossible to cut properly.
• They are often cut into subsoil so giving bad / impossible growing conditions.
• At an angle that offers the bank to the full force of the sun giving baking hot conditions.
• Difficult to weed because of the steep gradient.

Giving a bank the shingle treatment will:

• Stop the weeds growing.
• Provide a mulch to keep moisture in.
• Stop soil erosion from heavy rain etc.
• Create a really good looking feature from what is often an unsightly spot.

The illustration shows:   A.   A gravel board at the top dividing the stones from the lawn.   B.   A substantial railway sleeper at the bottom which holds back the stone.   C.   The membrane (plantex) to prevent weed growth.   D.   A shrub planted in the same way as for a shingle garden.

Construction

• Clear the area of any weeds and vegetation.
• Put in the gravel board at the top of the bank using pegs.>
• Set the railway sleepers in a shallow bed of concrete. Put some nails in the bottom of the sleeper to gel a good connection with the concrete.
• Put on the membrane (plantex).
• Plant up any shrubs etc.
• Put in the stone, starting from the bottom making sure they bind together well.

The size of the stone to use should vary from 2" to 4" with a few larger if possible. The different sizes make the stones bind together. It helps to have some broken stone as well, this helps the binding process.

'Reject stone' available from most gravel pits is not only ideal but cheap.

Some plant suggestions for a shingle bank:   Berberis Rose Glow Buddleia Caryopteris Ceanothus Cistus Cortaderia – pampas grass (consider the dwarf variety 'Pumila') Cotoneaster Cytisus Escallonia Euonymous Hebe Hypericum Lavender Phormium Potentilla Rosemary Santolina Senecio Spiraea Geraniums Conifers (low growing varieties)

Shingle Bank

If you don’t like the idea of a stone bank, or your slope is too steep, there is an alternative for banks that do have reasonable soil.

Prepare the bank and cover it with a biodegradable hemp net. This is fixed to the bank with special pegs. Ground hugging plants can then be planted to cover the whole area.

The netting will hold the soil in place until the plants have taken hold, by which time the netting will have broken up (eventually to disappear all together).

Some plant suggestions for a steep bank:   Cistus Ceanothus repens Cotoneaster Dammari Euonymous Genista Lydia Hypericum Calycinum (very invasive) Junipers -     Communis Depressa Aurea "Repanda"     Horizontalis "Blue Chip"     Horizontalis "Emerald Spreader"

Ceanothus

Ordering your materials and plants can get complicated, so please get in touch with us and we will talk you through it.

You can contact us on 01473 311117, 7am - 7pm - 7 days a week.