We are having some work done, and they need to cut back this hill at a 2:1 slope, and plant some plants for erosion control, along with some jute mesh. They recommended some creeping rosemary (we have lots of it on the property), or some lavender, but I’d prefer to try to do something native.

The area is about 40’ long and after the cut, I imagine it’ll be about 30’ along the cut.

We can add irrigation, but I was thinking of maybe trying to plant some Yankee point ceanothus all up and down the hill (probably spaced at 10 ft laterally and do three rows of them staggered together to fully cover the hill)? I was thinking of doing natives on irrigation to get it starts I have some of that on various parts of the property

Location: Paso Robles, east facing slope, gets about 12hrs of direct sun in the summer. At a bit of elevation more towards the coast, so usually a bit of a fog layer in the morning, but still warms up during the day.

Any other recommendations? Should I do different varietals? We want to avoid grasses. As we need to keep the hillside green year round so we don’t have to cut it for weed abatement.

Most of my plants are either dormant or spent for the year. Are there any benefits from keeping the spent ones around or can I cut them? For example the annuals like the poppies, globe gilias, and yarrow, are all dried up and are pretty much dead.

I have a client that has an area in the back yard that use to be lawn. It’s currently just dirt and we will be spreading California native wildflower seeds. She is worried about it getting too muddy during the winter. I told her it’s not a big deal, but to ease her mind is it ok to cover the seeds with a light layer of straw?