The Slope That Ate My Garden (And How I’m Fighting Back)
Opening: That dramatic spring rainstorm last week turned my backyard into a mini Grand Canyon. I watched helplessly as three of my favorite hydrangeas slid downhill like they were late for a meeting with the Hudson River.
The Problem: Our property’s 25-degree slope has always been… ambitious. But after five years of bandaids (more mulch! bigger rocks!), it’s clear I need professional help. The final straw? Finding my garden gnome buried up to his hat in sediment.
The Discovery: While doom-scrolling erosion solutions at 2 AM, I stumbled on Hilltop Masonry’s Service Areas page. Their gallery showed a Croton property with terraces that looked like natural stone staircases for fairies. No ugly concrete walls in sight.
Takeaways:
Dry creek beds can be pretty (who knew?)
There’s an art to positioning boulders so they look “accidental”
Apparently, I should’ve been planting switchgrass this whole time
Closing: I’m not ready to admit defeat to gravity yet. But maybe—just maybe—this is the year I stop trying to out-stubborn the landscape.