stream erosion
hello,I just bought a house with a nice piece of land,it has a small stream separating the property,I plan on building a bridge but I need to control erosion on the steep banks of the stream,can anyone suggest any solutions?[img]https://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t87/tron6000/skyline006.jpg[/img][img]https://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t87/tron6000/skyline005.jpg[/img][/img]
-
JPlovesflowers
- Senior Member
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 10:36 pm
- Location: Northwest Arkansas
Sean F,
Beautiful property, You'll probably get lots more professional suggestions than this, but I would look for some type of ground cover. I had a situation like this when I lived in Virginia and only had success with ground cover, I also planted some siberian iris down by the stream. I got really bright one year and decided to put stones in the bottom of the stream, of course, I bought around 40 bags of beautiful river rock, thinking they would make it so much prettier. My husband laughed at me and said they would wash away with the first rain, well sure enough, it may not have been the first rain, but wash away they did. I believe they are still under my neighbor Charlie's bridge, unless some huge storm has motored them further downstream. If you like rocks, some large ones might help to firm up the edges by the stream. Of course, you will have snakes and all kinds of critters that want to live there then. It looks like there is some plastic mesh that may have washed away that was there at one time. Something like that might be helpful in getting some vegetation to grow and hold the soil in place. I'll be interested to see what others have to say....
Good luck!
JP
Beautiful property, You'll probably get lots more professional suggestions than this, but I would look for some type of ground cover. I had a situation like this when I lived in Virginia and only had success with ground cover, I also planted some siberian iris down by the stream. I got really bright one year and decided to put stones in the bottom of the stream, of course, I bought around 40 bags of beautiful river rock, thinking they would make it so much prettier. My husband laughed at me and said they would wash away with the first rain, well sure enough, it may not have been the first rain, but wash away they did. I believe they are still under my neighbor Charlie's bridge, unless some huge storm has motored them further downstream. If you like rocks, some large ones might help to firm up the edges by the stream. Of course, you will have snakes and all kinds of critters that want to live there then. It looks like there is some plastic mesh that may have washed away that was there at one time. Something like that might be helpful in getting some vegetation to grow and hold the soil in place. I'll be interested to see what others have to say....
Good luck!
JP
-
JPlovesflowers
- Senior Member
- Posts: 132
- Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 10:36 pm
- Location: Northwest Arkansas
-
wingdesigner
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2036
- Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 4:58 pm
- Location: Michigan--LP(troll)
Sean, what part of the country are you in, or what part of the world? If you're in the USA, I'd start with deep-rooted plants that like moisture. Ground covers, if not native to your area can become invasive. Daylily Hyperion might be a good choice for a little further up the bank, willow, especially the red or yellow-stemmed varieties, and you might have to use a mesh and plant through it until the plants get established in a year or so. Is that a shady bank, part sun or full sun? That will also determine your plant choices. If you go the rock route they'll have to be more like boulders w/one flat side to rest into the bank, it looks pretty steep! Is there a nursery nearby that might give a free consultation? Unless you are a professional landscape designer/contractor, I'd call in a pro if I were you. The price for a half-hour or one hour consultation would be well worth the grief and $$ saved from DIY mistakes; or introducing an invasive species into the local ecosystem. That's my 4p.