El Dorado Hills Landscaping
El Dorado Hills Landscaping Experts
Landscaping in El Dorado Hills has its own set of challenges. The Sierra Nevada foothills are dry with steep slopes and your landscape is prone to become food for deer, or even wild fires.
Landscaping on a Slope
When it comes to El Dorado Hills landscape Design in a slope, your primary concern will be to prevent erosion while keeping the property easy to maintain and accessible.
All ground should be covered, preferrably with deep-rooted plants and ground cover that will bind the soil layers together. With root systems virtuallly stitching the soil together, erosion from rain spatter and runoff will be minimized.
In order to make best use of a sloped yard use terraces, walls, and multi-level decks. While this will make your yard much more livable, it also can compromise the integrity of the ground if you cut into the hillside too much. If you must remove slope, do so as gradually as possible — in mini steps or terraces. Otherwise, professionally constructed retaining walls may be in order to keep everything from falling apart.
Deer Proof Your Yard
Deer’s appetites and hooves can destroy a beautiful garden in a few hours. Landscaping with plants that aren’t as tasty to deer encourages them to snack elsewhere — as long as they don’t get too hungry.
- Here is a list of deer proof plants.
Reduce Fire Risk
Wildfires are a real threat in northern California’s hills and mountains.
Being well prepared not only reduces the risk of your home going up in flames, but firefighters are also more likely to try and save it. Homes that are not easily accessible and/or surrounded by vegetation may be considered indefensible in the event of a fire.
- First, make sure your home is accessible.
- Second, isolate anything flammable by the rule of 10. A professional tree trimming company should be hired and consulted in order to secure the perimeter of your home. In a perfect world, your trees should be trimmed 10 feet up and spaced by 10 feet. Isolate groups of garden shrubs the same way. Use metal outdoor furniture instead of wood.
- Third, landscape with fire-resistant plants, trees, and shrubs, and water at least once weekly.
Here is a list of fire-resistant plants: http://www.sierraforestlegacy.org/CF_CommunityProtection/FirewiseLandscaping.php
Don’t Ruin the Ecosystem
Many of the plants we are accustomed to seeing in the El Dorado Hills Landscape are actually invasive species that are harmful to the ecosystem.
Groundcovers: Don’t plant English or Algerian Ivy and Periwinkle.
- View alternatives here: https://www.cal-ipc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Dont-Plant-A-Pest-Sierra-Foothills.pdf
Ornamental Grasses: Don’t plant Giant Reed, Giant Cane, jubatagrass or pampas grass.
- Plant these instead: https://www.cal-ipc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Dont-Plant-A-Pest-Sierra-Foothills.pdf
Shrubs: Bridal broom, french broom, portuguese broom, scotch broom, spanish broom, scarlet wisteria, dalmation toadflax, yellow toadflax, oblong spurge, perennial pepperweed, tall whitetop, himalyan blackberry & foxglove are all invasive species.
- Here are the alternatives: https://www.cal-ipc.org/solutions/prevention/landscaping/dpp/?region=foothills
Trees: Tree of Heaven, black locust, salt cedar & Chinese tallow tree are invasive.
- Try these instead: http://www.cal-ipc.org/landscaping/dpp/plantpage.php?region=foothills&type=Trees
- Go-To Tree Trimmer in Sacramento: Tree Removal Arborist